Lithuania announces plans to shut down Belarus border
(MENAFN) Lithuania has announced plans to indefinitely close its border with Belarus and to authorize its military to shoot down balloons that enter its airspace, following a series of recent incursions, according to reports on Monday.
Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene convened a session of the National Security Commission after Vilnius Airport was forced to halt operations four times within a single week due to balloon sightings. During the meeting, she presented what she described as “a clear algorithm” for future government actions.
Ruginiene confirmed that authorities have already prepared a resolution to seal the border with Belarus, allowing only limited exceptions. “This means that diplomats and diplomatic mail will be able to move, and our and EU citizens will also be able to enter us from Belarus, but all other movement will be closed. This is how we send a signal to Belarus and say that no hybrid attack will be tolerated here, we will take all the strictest measures to stop such attacks,” she said.
She emphasized that the Lithuanian military would be authorized to use “kinetic means” to shoot down any balloons violating national airspace.
The prime minister also stated that Lithuania will work with the European Union to coordinate a new package of sanctions against Belarus. “This will be done soon. We are also actively consulting and communicating with our allies and our neighbors Poland and Latvia. Any of our actions are also coordinated with them, we are not a separate state, we are part of NATO and the EU. We coordinate everything we do with them,” Ruginiene added.
Additionally, she announced plans to introduce an amendment to the Criminal Code during Wednesday’s government session, proposing imprisonment as the “highest and most severe” penalty for smuggling offenses.
Her statements came after Lithuania closed Vilnius Airport and several border crossings with Belarus late Sunday for the third consecutive night due to the detection of balloons in its airspace.
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