The Vilnius government announced on Wednesday that it will reopen the border crossing points with Belarus, after they were closed last month due to several incidents related to the intrusion of suspicious balloons into Lithuanian airspace, reports IPN.
It is not yet clear when exactly the border crossings will reopen, but the government has confirmed that the decision to lift the restrictions has been made. Lithuania had initially announced that the border would remain closed until the end of November.
The Lithuanian law enforcement agencies had previously reported crossings of weather balloons launched from Belarus over the border with Lithuania, which caused disruptions to air traffic, including the temporary closure of Vilnius airport.
According to the State Guard Service of Lithuania, since the beginning of the year, nearly 500 incidents involving Belarusian balloons entering Lithuanian airspace have occurred. Similar devices have been discovered by border guards in Latvia and Poland. It is assumed that these are used by smugglers for cigarette trafficking. In recent weeks, such balloons have approached the airports in Vilnius and Kaunas, causing flight restrictions.
Belarusian President Alexandr Lukashenko has stated that the closure of the border by Lithuania is a “crazy scam”.
