Lithuania closes 2 Belarus border crossings for a month after airspace violations
Lithuania will close the Salcininkai and Medininkai border crossings with Belarus for one month, Lithuanian media outlet LRT reported on Oct. 29.
The decision follows a string of airspace violations involving balloons launched from Belarusian territory that forced multiple airport closures. The restrictions will remain in place until Nov. 30.
According to Lithuanian Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic, the Salcininkai checkpoint will be closed completely, while the Medininkai crossing will remain partially open under limited conditions.
"Diplomats, transit passengers from Kaliningrad, citizens returning to Lithuania, citizens of EU and NATO countries, and their family members will be allowed to pass through it," Kondratovic said.
"Persons with a residence permit in Lithuania" will also be exempt from the restrictions.
The measure comes after Vilnius International Airport suspended operations for several hours on Oct. 26–27 due to one or more balloons flying toward the airport — the third night in a row and the fourth time that week airspace violations halted air traffic.
On Oct. 24, Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene announced an initial incident involving balloons, saying that a large group of "smuggling balloons" was launched from Belarus towards Lithuania. Vilnius and Kaunas airports closed temporarily in response.
The following night, additional balloons were again detected crossing from Belarusian territory, prompting further air traffic suspensions and temporary closures of Lithuania's last two operational border crossings.
Belarus, ruled by dictator Alexander Lukashenko since 1994, remains one of Moscow's closest allies and has provided Russia with political, economic, and military support during its full-scale war in Ukraine.
Lithuania shares a 680-kilometer (420-mile) border with the country.
In September, following a Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace, Kondratovic warned that Lithuania was ready to close its border with Belarus immediately if provoked.
Kateryna Hodunova
