Lithuania closes border crossings with Belarus indefinitely after balloons violate airspace for 3rd night in row
Editor's note: The story was updated with the latest details.
Lithuania has closed its border crossings with Belarus indefinitely after balloons from Belarus violated its airspace for the third night in a row, officials said on Oct. 26-27.
Vilnius International Airport temporarily suspended operations for several hours on Oct. 26-27 due to one or more balloons flying in the direction of the airport, airport officials said. The incident marks the third night in a row and the fourth time this week airspace violations have halted air traffic in Lithuania.
Border crossings with Belarus have been closed for "an indefinite period" in response to the latest incident, Lithuania's National Crisis Management Center (NKVC) announced.
Previous violations over the past few days resulted in temporary closures at border crossings. 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, air traffic at Vilnius Airport was halted again following reports of balloons launched from Belarusian territory. Lithuania temporarily closed its last two operational border crossings with Belarus after each incident.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda urged the government to propose response measures, including a prolonged closure of the border with Belarus and restrictions on the transit from Russia's Kaliningrad exclave.
"The president views the recent incidents and disruptions to airport operations as a hybrid attack on Lithuania, which requires a response by both symmetrical and asymmetrical means," the Lithuanian Presidential Office said.
Earlier in October, Lithuania reported a series of airspace violations involving balloons carrying contraband cigarettes. On Oct. 5 and 21, Lithuanian authorities were forced to close the airspace above Vilnius, grounding dozens of flights.
Lithuania shares a 680-kilometer (420-mile) border with Belarus, and borders Russia's heavily armed Kaliningrad exclave. In September, following a Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace, Lithuanian Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic said Lithuania was prepared to close the border with Belarus immediately if provoked.
The drone breach was followed by a wave of suspicious aerial incidents across Europe, fueling fears of hybrid operations linked to Russia.
