“Hybrid attack” with balloons. Vilnius airport closed again, Lithuania asks the EU for help

The airport in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, suspended operations on Sunday due to the suspected presence of balloons near the port. This is another such case, described by the Lithuanian authorities as a “hybrid attack” from Belarus.

Air traffic was suspended just after 18 local time (19 in Poland); restrictions will apply at least until 21 (22 in Poland) – stated in the announcement on the port's website.

According to the Lithuanian authorities, the balloons are shipped from Belarus by cigarette smugglers, and Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenko is to blame.which does not stop this practice. Lithuanian authorities claim it is a “hybrid attack”.

Due to smuggling balloons, the airport in Vilnius and once in Kaunas were closed ten times in October and November. The suspension of airport operations affected approximately 250 flights and 36,000. passengers.

A week ago, on the night from Sunday to Monday, the airport in Vilnius was closed twice due to smuggling balloons coming from Belarus.

Increasing incidents involving meteorological and smuggling balloons entering Lithuanian airspace from Belarus and disrupting traffic at the Vilnius airport resulted in Lithuania closing the border with Belarus at the end of October.

A week ago, the Lithuanian government decided to reopen the border, considering that the security situation no longer justified such a solution.

Lithuania appeals to the European Commission

Lithuania calls for “the development and presentation of a coherent EU action plan to provide assistance to European carriers in Belarus, as well as to solve the security problem on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border caused by the use of unmanned aircraft, including smuggling balloons,” writes the BNS agency on Sunday, based on a letter sent to the EC.

According to the agency, EU Commissioners for Foreign Affairs and Transport, Kaja Kallas and Apostolos Tzitzikos, are asked, among others, to: o “to demand at EU level the complete and unconditional release of European carriers and their assets illegally held on the Belarusian side” and to initiate new sanctions against Belarus proposed by Lithuania for smuggling balloons violating Lithuanian airspace.

For several months, Lithuania has been struggling with increasing incidents involving the use of meteorological and smuggling balloons, which include, among others: disrupt traffic at Vilnius airport. In response, at the end of October, Lithuania closed its border with Belarus. After a few weeks, the Lithuanian government decided to reopen the border, considering that the security situation no longer justified such a solution.

The improvement in the situation turned out to be temporary. Due to smuggling balloons coming from Belarus, the Vilnius airport was closed for eight hours on the night from Friday to Saturday. A record number of balloon signs – about 60 – were recorded on radar. The airport was closed again on Sunday because of balloons.

Belarus is also blocking the movement of Lithuanian trucks that are stuck on its territory after the border is closed. Despite the opening of the border, Minsk is not allowing cars out, demanding consultations at the level of foreign ministries. The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not agree to this, because – as Minister Budrys emphasizes – it could pave the way for Minsk to break out from international political isolation.

According to data from the Lithuanian government, about 280 trucks are trapped in Belarus. The Lithuanian road transport company Linava says about several thousand cars.

(PAP)

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