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The Baltic nation plans to shoot down balloons used to smuggle cigarettes from neighbouring Belarus, government officials confirmed.

The measure comes after balloons entering Lithuanian airspace disrupted air traffic multiple times over the past week, affecting holiday travel, accompanied by temporary closures of frontier checkpoints during these events.

Border checkpoints will now be closed indefinitely due to the ongoing aerial incidents.

Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said, "authorities will not hesitate to employ even the most severe actions against airspace violations."

Official Measures

Outlining the strategy to media, officials stated defense units were executing "all necessary measures" to intercept unauthorized devices.

Concerning border measures, the Prime Minister confirmed diplomatic movement continues between the two countries, while European Union nationals and Lithuanian residents retain entry rights, though all other travel remains prohibited.

"In this way, we are sending a signal to the neighboring nation and saying that no hybrid attack will be tolerated here, and we will take all the strictest measures to halt these operations," the Prime Minister emphasized.

There has been no immediate response from Minsk officials.

Alliance Coordination

The Baltic nation intends to coordinate with partners about the security challenges presented and may discuss activating Nato's Article 4 - a request for consultation by a Nato member country regarding security matters, especially related to its security - officials noted.

Airport Disruptions

Lithuanian airports were closed three times over the weekend because of aerial devices from Belarus, impacting over hundred flights and thousands of travelers, according to Baltic News Service.

Earlier this month, several unauthorized objects traversed the border, leading to 30 flight cancellations affecting 6,000 passengers, according to emergency management officials.

These incidents continue previous patterns: by autumn measurements, hundreds of aerial devices documented crossing borders from neighboring territory during current year, per government spokesperson comments, with nearly thousand incidents during previous year.

International Perspective

International air travel hubs - covering northern and central European sites - faced comparable aviation security challenges, with unauthorized drone observations, in recent weeks.