Fourth time in a week, Lithuania is attacked by weather probes - border with Belarus closed

On the evening of October 26, Lithuania shut down Vilnius airport for the third day in a row because of weather probes that flew in from Belarus. This is said in a statement by the airport administration.

At 21:42, the airport temporarily suspended air traffic due to the detection of a balloon or several balloons in the country's sky moving in its direction. The restrictions will remain in effect until 01:40 on October 27.

According to the National Center for Crisis Management (NKVC), Lithuania is closing the border with Belarus indefinitely due to weather probes, reports LRT. It is about the two operating crossings of Šalčininkai and Mladininkai.

In total, Lithuania's air traffic was disrupted four times last week due to smuggled balloons flying from Belarus.

Also on October 26, a batch of smuggled cigarettes, delivered from Belarus on a weather balloon, was found in Vilnius district . The parcel contained 1500 packs of cigarettes. Border guards detained four people in Vilnius, allegedly involved in the smuggling.

• on October 23, Russian planes violated Lithuanian airspace by flying in for a few seconds from the Kaliningrad region. NATO fighter jets were scrambled to counteract them..
• On October 24, Lithuania temporarily closed the border with Belarus and shut down two airports because of weather probes with contraband. A similar incident occurred on October 22.
• On October 26, the Lithuanian prime minister proposed to permanently close the border with Belarus and restrict transit to Kaliningrad