Lithuanian president proposes closing border with Belarus for long period and restricting transit to Kaliningrad

President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda proposed to close the border with Belarus for a long period of time and restrict transit to the Russian city of Kaliningrad due to the threat of counter-smuggling with the help of Belarusian weather probes. About the statement of the administration of the politician with reference to the Lithuanian agency BNS reports public broadcaster LRT.

"The president sees the recent incidents and airport disruptions as a hybrid attack on Lithuania, which must be responded to in both symmetrical and asymmetrical ways. In the coming days, the government should propose ways to respond. Among the options that should be considered are the prolonged closure of the border with Belarus and the restriction of transit to Kaliningrad," the ministry said in a statement.

On Tuesday, October 28, the Lithuanian leader will convene an interagency meeting on these issues.

Earlier, on 24-25, balloons with Belarusian contraband disrupted the operation of Vilnius airport for two days in a row, and on one of the days Kaunas airport faced obstacles.

In total, air traffic was disrupted three times during the week due to balloons with contraband.

In response to these situations, Lithuania has several times temporarily closed the border with Belarus.

As BNS previously reported, after Lithuania closed some border crossings with Belarus, erected a physical barrier on the border, and strengthened its security, weather balloons became one of the most popular ways to smuggle cigarettes.

• On October 23, Russian planes violated Lithuanian airspace, flying in for a few seconds from the Kaliningrad region. NATO fighter jets were sent up to counter it.
• Lithuanian Foreign Minister Calls on NATO to introduce rotational air defense as soon as possible to protect the country from drones, weather probes and airplanes.