Vilnius (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The Lithuanian government on Tuesday declared a state of emergency due to threats to public safety from smuggled balloons originating in Belarus, the government announced.
Belarus is accused by Lithuania of permitting smugglers to use weather balloons to cross the border with illegal cigarettes, repeatedly forcing Vilnius airport to close and interfering with air travel. These balloons have frequently interfered with air travel in the Baltic nation.
“The state of emergency is announced not only due to civil aviation disruptions but also due to the interests of national security,”
Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic told a government session.
The declaration grants expanded operational freedom to the military, permitting it to act in coordination with police or independently, Kondratovic also said, though he did not specify further particulars.
What strict measures has Lithuania introduced against Belarus?
Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene of Lithuania declared in October that her country will start shooting down smuggler balloons that cross the border from Belarus. She reaffirmed that the government has already scheduled a decision to close the border with Belarus indefinitely, with certain exceptions.
“Today, we have decided to take the strictest measures. There is no other way,”
Ruginiene said.
“This means that diplomats and diplomatic mail will be able to move, and our and EU citizens will also be able to enter us from Belarus, but all other movement will be closed. This is how we send a signal to Belarus and say that no hybrid attack will be tolerated here, we will take all the strictest measures to stop such attacks,”
she said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also stated on December 1 that the crisis at the border was “worsening” and called the balloon attacks a “hybrid attack” by Belarus that was “completely unacceptable.”
How did Belarus respond to Lithuania’s border closing?
In response, Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus at the time, called Lithuania’s border closure a “crazy scam” and accused Vilnius of using hybrid warfare.
Lithuania had
“come up with an absurd excuse, these balloons, even for a small country like Lithuania,”
according to Lukashenko. Additionally, he said that the deployment of Russia’s Oreshnik missile system in Belarus is a security measure rather than an act of aggression.
How does this crisis compare to earlier Lithuanian emergencies?
In a similar vein, Lithuania restricted non-residents’ access to the Belarus border region in 2021 by declaring a state of emergency due to alleged illegal migration. Belarus’ relations with Europe remain strained due to political differences.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the following year, Vilnius declared a state of emergency, restricting free speech to stop what it claimed was possible Russian propaganda, out of concern that Lithuania might also be targeted.
