Lithuania says it will shoot down Belarus smuggler balloons disrupting air traffic

By Andrius Sytas

VILNIUS (Reuters) -Lithuania's Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said on Monday her country will begin to shoot down smuggler balloons crossing the border from Belarus, which have repeatedly interrupted the Baltic nation's air traffic.

Lithuania closed Vilnius Airport four times last week after balloons entered its airspace, and each time temporarily shut its Belarus border crossings in response to the incidents.

Lithuania has said balloons are sent by smugglers transporting contraband cigarettes from Belarus into the EU, but it also blames Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, for not stopping the practice.

There was no immediate comment from Belarus. 

Ruginiene called the incidents "hybrid attacks" and said the Belarus border crossings will be closed except for travel by diplomats and by European Union citizens leaving the neighbouring country.

"Today we have decided to take the strictest measures. There is no other way," Ruginiene told a press conference, adding that NATO member Lithuania may also discuss invoking NATO article 4 security consultations.

European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos in recent weeks by drone sightings and other air incursions, including at airports in Copenhagen, Munich and the Baltic region.

On Thursday, Lithuania said two Russian military aircraft had entered its airspace for about 18 seconds, prompting a formal protest and a reaction from NATO forces, while Russia denied the incident.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said recent airspace violations should not be regarded as isolated incidents.

"These are calculated provocations designed to destabilize, distract (and) test NATO's resolve," he said on social media X.

(Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; Additional reporting by Moscow bureau; Writing by Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Terje Solsvik and Hugh Lawson)