Lithuania declares nationwide state of emergency over balloons smuggled from Belarus

On December 9, a state of emergency was declared throughout Lithuania due to regular attacks by balloons carrying contraband from the territory of Belarus.

This is stated in a statement by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country.

They call these attacks hybrid and emphasize that they threaten Lithuaniaʼs national security. The state of emergency was introduced to control, in particular, the threat to civil aviation.

The emergency regime will also allow Lithuanian agencies to coordinate actions more closely and, if necessary, enlist the support of military units.

A state of emergency has been declared across the country because the direction of the wind can change the course of the balloons. The Lithuanian Ministry of Internal Affairs noted that this will not cause any inconvenience to society.

The head of the State Emergency Management Agency for this period was appointed the head of the Lithuanian Ministry of Internal Affairs Vladislav Kondratovych.

According to the Lithuanian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Vilnius Airport has been closed for almost 60 hours since October this year due to a threat to civil aviation posed by balloons carrying contraband. This affected over 350 flights and more than 50 000 passengers.

• On October 27, Lithuania temporarily closed its border with Belarus due to repeated intrusions by balloons carrying contraband, and Minsk responded by restricting the exit of Lithuanian trucks.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.