Lithuania sounds alarm over Belarusian provocations: The most tense night recorded
Illustrative photo: Lithuania reported the most tense night of 24 November due to provocations from Belarus (Getty Images)
Lithuania reported that the night leading up to 24 November was the "most intense" of the month due to a massive launch of aerial balloons from Belarusian territory. The country called on the EU to respond to the attacks, according to LRT and a statement from Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys.
"We had probably the most intense night in the whole of November, as the launch of weather balloons started around 05:00 PM from Belarus and lasted until 02:00 AM," said Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the National Crisis Management Center.
According to him, the closure of the airspace was "caused precisely by the prolonged scale and intensity of the weather balloon launches."
He added that due to the balloons, Vilnius Airport canceled 13 flights, while another six were redirected to Kaunas.
"Over a thousand passengers had to be transported between Kaunas and Vilnius," Vitkauskas said. Overall, more than 40 balloons were recorded in Lithuanian airspace.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys also spoke about Lithuania’s growing frustration with the repeated airspace violations by meteorological aerostats launched from Belarus, which regularly lead to airport closures, with Vilnius Airport closing twice in the past 24 hours.
He said he would raise these issues during today’s negotiations, noting that in recent weeks more than 30,000 passengers have been affected and over 200 flights redirected.
"We cannot function normally," he stated.
He noted that Belarus also continues to seize Lithuanian trucks and trailers, "blackmailing us and putting pressure on our economy."
"The EU must respond to these combined attacks," he said.
Belarusian provocations in Lithuania
On 4 November, an unidentified drone was spotted near Vilnius Airport, leading to the airport being closed for several hours.
In October, balloons carrying contraband, launched from Belarusian territory, were also observed in Lithuanian airspace.
It was also reported that Lithuania detained the operator of the drone that had flown near Vilnius Airport.
