Lithuania's government has declared a state of emergency over disruptions caused to its airspace by weather balloons, sent from Belarus.
The balloons are regularly used by smugglers in Belarus to transport contraband cigarettes to Lithuania and have disrupted aviation routes close to the capital Vilnius in recent months.
Lithuania has accused Belarusian authorities of failing to take action to prevent smugglers from using the balloons and considers the incidents to be part of hybrid attacks by Minsk.
In practice, the state of emergency would give Lithuania’s armed forces more powers to operate alongside police and border guards to intercept the balloons.
According to Lithuanian state broadcaster LRT, the government has proposed granting additional powers to troops to detain suspects and restrict access to certain areas during the emergency period.
That proposal will be voted on by the parliament in Vilnius later today. If approved, the additional powers could remain in force for up to three months.
In a cabinet meeting in Vilnius this morning, which was livestreamed, Lithuanian interior minister Vladislav Kondratovič said the state of emergency was being declared not only because of disruptions to civil aviation, but also due to "national security concerns and the need for closer coordination among institutions".
Lithuania’s interior ministry said that 600 smuggling balloons and 197 drones have entered Lithuanian airspace so far this year.
Such incidents have disrupted more than 300 flights and affected 47,000 passengers during 2025, according to LRT.
Vilnius airport was repeatedly closed in October and November due to the appearance of weather balloons and the most recent incident occurred last Saturday.
Posting on X last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the appearance of smuggler balloons over Lithuania as a "hybrid attack" and "completely unacceptable", adding that the Commission was preparing further sanctions against Minsk.
Belarusian Alexander Lukashenko said that Lithuania’s claims about the danger posed by the balloons were "unrealistic", according to pro-government Telegram channel Pul Pervogo.
Lithuania last declared a state of emergency in February 2022 following the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Additional reporting Reuters
