Lithuania declares state of emergency over smuggler balloons from Belarus
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information.
The Lithuanian government declared a nationwide emergency situation on Dec. 9 due to repeated cases of balloons flying into Lithuania from Belarus.
This move will allow state institutions to coordinate their response more effectively and involve the military.
Vilnius has said that the balloons regularly flown into Lithuanian airspace carry contraband and pose a risk to national security, human life, property, and the environment.
Lithuanian officials have accused Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko of deliberately allowing — and effectively weaponizing — the practice, describing it as part of a wider "hybrid attack" on the Baltic state.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the country's State Defense Council will meet in mid-December to discuss which Belarusian-owned assets could be frozen or seized in response to recent provocations.
Following statements about the possible confiscation of Belarusian assets in Lithuania, Lukashenko proposed that Vilnius begin negotiations to "improve relations."
The dictator said that he would "always reach an agreement" with the Lithuanian people.
The surge in airspace violations by the balloons led to repeated shutdowns of Vilnius Airport and the temporary closure of the Lithuanian-Belarusian border earlier in the autumn.
Lithuania's Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic said the government will review the necessity of maintaining the state of emergency in a month.
"By declaring a state of emergency today, we are legitimizing the involvement of the military (…) and indeed, every evening quite a few units go out together with the police, conduct patrols, monitor the area, and detect shipments," Kondratovic said, according to the LRT public broadcaster.
The Baltic NATO country, which shares a border with Russia's heavily armed exclave of Kaliningrad and Moscow's ally Belarus, has been raising alarm over what it says are escalating hybrid operations targeting Lithuania.
Recent months saw Russian aircraft violating NATO airspace, as well as suspicious drone sightings across Europe. Russian intelligence services have also been accused of sabotage operations and cyberattacks in Lithuania, Poland, Germany, and elsewhere.
