Lithuania shuts airports and Belarus border after weather balloon incursion | Lithuania
Lithuania closed its two largest airports and blocked crossings at its border with Belarus on Friday after helium air balloons drifted into its territory; This is the third incident in the Baltic state this month.
European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos in recent weeks by drone sightings and other air strikes, including at airports in Copenhagen, Munich and the Baltic region.
Authorities said that Vilnius and Kaunas airports were closed until 02:00 local time on Saturday for security reasons, and Belarus border crossings would remain closed until noon on Sunday.
European Union member Lithuania said smugglers were using the balloons to send Belarusian cigarettes to the EU, where tobacco products are more expensive.
Vilnius accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, of failing to stop the practice.
“The national security commission will meet next week to consider what can be done in the short term to inflict pain on traffickers and the Lukashenko regime and allow them to thrive,” Lithuanian prime minister Inga Ruginiene said in a statement.
Lithuania’s national crisis management center said “dozens of balloons” were detected by radar on Friday.
Vilnius airport was also closed on Tuesday and on October 5, when 25 balloons crossed into Lithuanian airspace.
Similar balloons landed on Lithuanian territory, including the airport, earlier this year, and border guards have had the right to shoot them down since last year.
According to official data published this month, a total of 966 balloons entered Lithuania last year and more than 500 balloons have arrived so far this year.
There have been more than 100 similar incidents this year in neighboring Poland, according to border police.
Lithuania also said two Russian aircraft entered its airspace on Thursday: a Sukhoi SU-30 fighter jet and an IL-78 tanker flying from Russia’s Kaliningrad region.
In response, NATO sent two Eurofighter Typhoons on air patrol duty in the Baltic.
The Lithuanian military said the Russian planes penetrated 700 meters into Lithuanian airspace before departing 18 seconds later, possibly during mid-air refueling training.
The foreign ministry in Vilnius said it had summoned chargé d’affaires from the Russian embassy and issued a “strong protest”.
The Russian defense ministry denied that the attack took place.
Lithuania is a member of the EU and NATO. Violations of airspace became a sensitive issue after a number of suspected Russian drones, including one carrying explosives, crossed into its territory from Belarus in July.
