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Lithuania will begin to intercept and destroy helium balloons carrying cigarettes from neighbouring Belarus, the country's leader announced.

This action responds after balloons entering Lithuanian airspace necessitated airport closures on several occasions recently, affecting holiday travel, with the government also closing frontier checkpoints during these events.

Frontier crossing points remain suspended indefinitely due to the ongoing aerial incidents.

According to official declarations, "authorities will not hesitate to employ even the most severe actions during unauthorized aerial intrusions."

Official Measures

Detailing the measures during a briefing, officials stated defense units were executing "complete operational protocols" to intercept unauthorized devices.

Regarding frontier restrictions, officials noted embassy personnel maintain access between the two countries, and EU citizens and Lithuanians can enter from Belarus, but no other movement will be allowed.

"This represents our clear message to foreign authorities declaring that unconventional threats won't be accepted across our nation, employing comprehensive defensive actions to halt these operations," government officials declared.

There has been no immediate response from Minsk officials.

International Consultation

Lithuania plans to consult its allies regarding the aerial device concerns and may discuss activating Nato's Article 4 - a provision enabling alliance discussion on any issue of concern, especially related to its security - she added.

Travel Impacts

National air facilities experienced triple closures at the weekend due to weather balloons from Belarus, disrupting air transport and passenger movement, per transportation authority data.

In recent weeks, 25 balloons entered Lithuania from Belarus, leading to 30 flight cancellations affecting 6,000 passengers, per national security agency reports.

This situation represents ongoing challenges: as of 6 October, hundreds of aerial devices documented crossing borders from neighboring territory during current year, an NCMC spokesman said, with nearly thousand incidents during previous year.

Regional Situation

Other European airports - such as Scandinavian and German locations - have also been affected by air incursions, with unauthorized drone observations, during current period.