ALBAWABA- Lithuania announced on Monday the indefinite closure of all border crossings with Belarus, citing what it called a “hybrid threat” linked to repeated airspace violations and growing security risks from Minsk and its main ally, Moscow.
Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė said the decision followed a series of incursions by helium balloons launched from Belarusian territory, allegedly used to smuggle contraband cigarettes but viewed by Lithuanian authorities as a form of deliberate provocation.
She authorized security forces to shoot down any future aerial intrusions, describing them as “a deliberate escalation of hybrid warfare.”
The closures, effective immediately, apply to all passenger and most commercial crossings, though exemptions remain for humanitarian, medical, and essential freight traffic.
The move comes after seven airspace shutdowns over Vilnius in the past week, which temporarily grounded flights and caused economic losses estimated in the millions of euros.
Officials say the balloons, each carrying up to 20 kilograms of contraband, illustrate a pattern of Belarusian hybrid tactics, echoing Minsk’s 2021 use of migrants to pressure the EU.
Lithuania’s leadership has framed the decision as part of a broader effort to fortify NATO’s eastern flank, particularly around the strategic Suwałki Gap, the narrow corridor linking Lithuania to Poland and separating Belarus from Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave.
Belarus, which has hosted Russian troops and supported Moscow’s war in Ukraine, denounced the closure as “unlawful” and threatened retaliatory measures.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed solidarity with Lithuania, warning of “unacceptable hybrid threats” spreading from the Ukraine conflict into neighboring states.
