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Lithuania will begin to shoot down aerial devices transporting illicit goods from Belarus, the country's leader announced.

This action responds after balloons entering Lithuanian airspace disrupted air traffic multiple times over the past week, affecting holiday travel, with the government also closing frontier checkpoints during these events.

Border checkpoints will now be closed indefinitely in response to the helium weather balloons.

According to official declarations, "our nation stands prepared to implement maximum response protocols against airspace violations."

Government Response

Announcing the actions at a press conference, the Prime Minister confirmed military forces were implementing "every required action" to intercept unauthorized devices.

About the border closure, Ruginiene said diplomats will still be able to travel between the two countries, with special provisions for EU and Lithuanian nationals, but no other movement will be allowed.

"In this way, we are sending a signal to Belarus and saying that no hybrid attack will be tolerated within our territory, and we'll implement maximum countermeasures to prevent similar incidents," the Prime Minister emphasized.

Authorities received no prompt reaction from the neighboring government.

Diplomatic Measures

Lithuania plans to consult its allies about the security challenges presented while potentially considering invocation of the alliance's consultation mechanism - a request for consultation by a Nato member country regarding security matters, especially related to its security - the Prime Minister concluded.

Travel Impacts

Lithuanian airports were closed three times at the weekend due to weather balloons crossing the international border, affecting 112 flights and more than 16,500 passengers, per transportation authority data.

Earlier this month, several unauthorized objects traversed the border, resulting in numerous canceled flights and passenger inconveniences, according to emergency management officials.

This situation represents ongoing challenges: by autumn measurements, hundreds of aerial devices documented crossing borders from neighboring territory during current year, an NCMC spokesman said, while 966 were recorded last year.

International Perspective

Additional aviation facilities - including in Copenhagen and Munich - experienced similar aerial disruptions, with unauthorized drone observations, during current period.