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POZIRK+Irregular Belarus-Lithuania crossings drop after Vilnius closes shared border
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POZIRK+
Lithuania restores border traffic with Belarus
October 25, Pozirk. Lithuania has resumed processing traffic at its border with Belarus today at noon, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service reports.
Yesterday, the State Border Guard Service head Rustamas Liubajevas decided to suspend the operation of the Medininkai and Šalčininkai border checkpoints to ensure the security of Lithuania amid another large-scale incursion by cigarette-smuggling balloons from Belarus.
The airports in Vilnius and Kaunas were also closed, with flights redirected to Palanga, Lithuania; Riga, Latvia; and Katowice and Gdańsk, Poland.
As of noon today, 840 trucks, 90 cars and 15 buses were waiting at the Kamienny Łoh-Medininkai checkpoint; 750 trucks and 80 cars were reported in Bieniakoni-Šalčininkai, according to the Belarusian State Border Committee. Its head Uładzimir Arłoŭski has denounced Lithuania’s surprise border closures, describing these as “unprecedented.”
For the first time, Lithuania briefly closed its border with Belarus on October 22. On the same day, Deividas Matulionis, the Lithuanian president’s chief national security advisor, said that Vilnius may close its border with Belarus for an extended period if the launches of unauthorized weather balloons continue.
Earlier this week, Lithuania’s National Security Commission also discussed tougher punishment for airspace violations and threats to civil aviation caused by cigarette-smuggling balloons launched from Belarus.
Since the start of 2025, some 80 percent of smuggled cigarettes have reportedly arrived in Lithuania from Belarus by weather balloons or drones. Lithuanian authorities seized more than 1.1 million packs of cigarettes delivered by air, including 800,000 packs delivered by balloons.
Lithuanian PM vows harsh response to smuggling from Belarus
October 23, Pozirk. Lithuanian authorities will respond harshly and immediately to any “hostile actions,” including the free movement of smuggled goods from Belarus, Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė told Žinių Radijas. Her comment refers to yesterday’s Lithuanian airspace violation by cigarette-smuggling …
