Hybrid warfare

Lithuania closes its border with Belarus: 'We will shoot down balloons that violate our airspace'

After days of hybrid attacks, Vilnius announces border closure with Minsk and appeals to allies

by Massimo De Laurentiis

27 October 2025

La prima ministra lituana Inga Ruginiene assiste a una conferenza stampa con il primo ministro polacco Donald Tusk presso la Cancelleria del primo ministro a Varsavia, Polonia, 7 ottobre 2025. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo/File Photo

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

The hybrid attacks of the past few days
International reactions
Additional measures planned

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The tension between Lithuania and Belarus rises again. After days of incursions of dozens of balloons into Lithuanian airspace, the government in Vilnius has announced the closure of the border and the intention to shoot down any such objects that cross it.

Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė accused Minsk and declared that 'no hybrid attack will be tolerated'. From her X account, the prime minister appealed to her European and NATO allies for a united and resolute response.

The border is currently closed on the basis of a temporary decision by the border authorities. A further indefinite closure will be discussed by the government on Wednesday and is expected to be approved.

Only diplomats or EU citizens wishing to leave Belarus will be allowed to cross the border.

The hybrid attacks of the past few days

This decision comes after a difficult week for the Lithuanian authorities. For days, Vilnius airport suffered major disruptions due to the presence of dozens of balloons that interfered with air traffic.

The latest incident occurred on Sunday night and led to the fourth temporary closure of the capital's airport. In total, more than 170 flights were cancelled during the week, affecting almost 30,000 passengers.

The balloons have long been used to smuggle cigarettes from Belarus into Lithuania, but the authorities in Vilnius claim that the regime of Aleksandr Lukashenko has also started to use them as a sabotage tool.

According to Deividas Matulionis, an advisor to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, these operations are part of a hybrid psychological operation to harass the lives of Lithuanian citizens.

International reactions

Belarus, which had already denied the accusations, called the border closure a provocation. According to Minsk, Lithuania is using the crisis as a pretext to fuel anti-Belarus policies and justify new economic sanctions.

The Russian news agency Tass reports that the measure had immediate practical effects: the Belarusian transport company Minsktrans cancelled several bus routes to Lithuania and Latvia, citing the closure of border crossings as the main cause.

Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, the European Commission's transport spokesperson, explained that Brussels is monitoring the situation and is in contact with Vilnius in order to clarify the causes of the accidents, but avoided speculating on responsibility.

Additional measures planned

According to reports in the Financial Times, in recent days advisers to Lithuanian President Nausėda have suggested that transit to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad could also be restricted.

Prime Minister Ruginienė added that Lithuania does not rule out using Article 4 of NATO, which allows for consultations between allies in the event of a security threat. This measure, not to be confused with Article 5, which calls for military intervention, was also recently used by Estonia and Poland following violations of their airspace by Russia.

Already last week, Ruginienė had convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Commission to deal with the balloon raids, stating: 'we must find - not discuss, but find - a solution'. The Lithuanian government is also reportedly planning to toughen penalties for smugglers.