Lithuania to shoot down smuggler balloons, shut Belarus border crossings
Summary
Lithuania plans to shoot down balloons smuggled from Belarus and close its border crossings with Belarus, except for certain exceptions. These actions come after repeated airspace violations by smugglers using balloons. Lithuania's government will meet to discuss further action and consider involving NATO.Key Facts
- Lithuania will shoot down balloons coming from Belarus used by smugglers.
- The country will also close its border crossings with Belarus, except for diplomats and EU citizens leaving Belarus.
- Lithuania's Prime Minister refers to the balloon incidents as "hybrid attacks."
- NATO member Lithuania closed its airport multiple times last week due to airspace violations.
- The government might invoke NATO Article 4, which means consulting allies on security threats.
- Lithuanian authorities claim the balloons carry contraband cigarettes and accuse Belarus of not stopping the practice.
- Belarusian opposition leader believes the smuggling is used as aggression against Europe.
- Recent events include Russian military aircraft briefly entering Lithuanian airspace, leading to protests.
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