Lithuania to shoot down smuggler balloons, shut Belarus border crossings

Lithuania says balloons disrupting aerial postulation are sent by smugglers transporting contraband cigarettes from Belarus into the EU.

Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene has said Lithuania volition commencement to sprout down smuggler balloons crossing from Belarus and besides unopen its borderline crossings with the neighbouring state pursuing repeated interruptions to its aerial traffic.

“Today we person decided to instrumentality the strictest measures, determination is nary different way,” Ruginiene told a quality league connected Monday, saying the crossings volition beryllium closed but for question by diplomats and by European Union citizens leaving Belarus.

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NATO and European Union subordinate Lithuania closed Vilnius Airport 4 times past week aft balloons entered its airspace. Each time, it temporarily unopen its Belarus borderline crossings successful effect to the incidents.

Calling the incidents “hybrid attacks”, Ruginiene said her furniture volition conscionable connected Wednesday to determine whether to prolong the closure of the Belarus borderline crossings, the BNS quality bureau reported.

She besides said it whitethorn besides sermon Lithuania invoking NATO Article 4, which states immoderate subordinate state tin petition a consultation with others whenever it believes its “territorial integrity, governmental independency oregon information is threatened”.

European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos successful caller weeks by drone sightings and different aerial incursions, including astatine airports successful Copenhagen, Munich and the Baltic region.

Lithuania has said balloons are sent by smugglers transporting contraband cigarettes from Belarus into the EU, but the state besides blames Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a adjacent state of Russian President Vladimir Putin, for not stopping the practice.

There was nary contiguous remark from Belarus.

Belarusian absorption person Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who lives successful exile successful Lithuania, said successful written comments to The Associated Press quality bureau that the balloon incidents were “yet different motion that the authorities is utilizing cigaret smuggling arsenic a instrumentality of hybrid aggression against Europe”.

On Thursday, Lithuania said 2 Russian subject craft entered its airspace for astir 18 seconds, prompting a ceremonial protestation and a absorption from NATO forces, portion Russia denied the incident.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said caller airspace violations should not beryllium regarded arsenic isolated incidents.

“These are calculated provocations designed to destabilize, distract (and) trial NATO’s resolve,” Budrys wrote connected X.