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Lithuania will begin to eliminate balloons used to smuggle cigarettes from neighbouring Belarus, government officials confirmed.

This action responds after unauthorized aerial incursions disrupted air traffic on several occasions recently, including at the weekend, accompanied by temporary closures of Belarus border crossings temporarily each time.

Frontier crossing points remain suspended indefinitely due to the ongoing aerial incidents.

The government leader stated, "authorities will not hesitate to employ even the most severe actions during unauthorized aerial intrusions."

Official Measures

Announcing the actions at a press conference, officials stated defense units were executing "all necessary measures" to shoot down balloons.

About the border closure, the Prime Minister confirmed diplomatic movement continues between the two countries, while European Union nationals and Lithuanian residents retain entry rights, but no other movement will be allowed.

"In this way, we are sending a signal to the neighboring nation stating that asymmetric operations face opposition within our territory, and we'll implement maximum countermeasures to prevent similar incidents," government officials declared.

Official communications saw no quick answer from Belarus.

International Consultation

Authorities will discuss with international allies over the threat posed from the balloons with possible discussions about implementing the alliance's consultation mechanism - a request for consultation by a Nato member country on any issue of concern, especially related to its security - she added.

Flight Cancellations

National air facilities experienced triple closures over the weekend because of aerial devices from Belarus, affecting 112 flights and more than 16,500 passengers, based on regional media reports.

In recent weeks, 25 balloons entered Lithuania from Belarus, resulting in numerous canceled flights and passenger inconveniences, per national security agency reports.

These incidents continue previous patterns: by autumn measurements, 544 balloons were recorded entering Lithuania from neighboring territory during current year, per government spokesperson comments, compared to higher numbers in prior period.

Regional Situation

Additional aviation facilities - such as Scandinavian and German locations - experienced similar aerial disruptions, involving unmanned aerial vehicles, over past months.