{"id":161755,"date":"2025-10-27T14:56:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T11:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/161755\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"lithuania-drafts-decision-to-close-border-with-belarus-indefinitely","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/161755\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithuania drafts decision to close border with Belarus indefinitely"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n  <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1128\" height=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ruginene_fb.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ruginene_fb.jpg 1128w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ruginene_fb-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ruginene_fb-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ruginene_fb-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ruginene_fb-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1128px) 100vw, 1128px\" \/>\n  <figcaption>\n  \n       <div class=\"block-image__author\">\n                <span>(Prime minister&#039;s Facebook account)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n     <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>October 27, <em>Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> The Lithuanian government has drafted a decision to close the border indefinitely in response to an influx of cigarette-smuggling weather balloons from Belarus, Prime Minister Inga Ruginien\u0117 said after today\u2019s meeting of the national security commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>she said that the decision provides for exceptions: this means that diplomats and diplomatic mail could pass through, as could EU citizens entering Lithuania from Belarus. &#8220;All other movement will be stopped. In this way, we are sending a signal to Belarus that we will not tolerate any hybrid attacks here, and we will take the toughest measures to prevent them,&#8221; she said, according to <em>LRT<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ruginien\u0117 pointed out that the Lithuanian foreign ministry will coordinate a package of additional sanctions on Minsk with the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis will be done soon. We are also actively consulting and communicating with our allies and neighbors Poland and Latvia. Any actions we take are coordinated with them. We are not an isolated state; we are part of NATO and the EU. We coordinate everything we do with them,\u201d the premier said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Ruginien\u0117, starting October 27, the military may shoot down foreign balloons. \u201cThis way, we are sending a signal that we are ready to take even the toughest measures in case of a violation of our airspace.\u201d<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"354\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/aeroport_vilnius_1128x752-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/aeroport_vilnius_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/aeroport_vilnius_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/aeroport_vilnius_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/aeroport_vilnius_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/aeroport_vilnius_1128x752.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Economy<\/label>\n\n                            <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Politics<\/label>\n\n                            <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Security<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">Economy, Politics, Security<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Lithuania mulls longer border closure after dozens of weather balloons enter from Belarus<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">October 27, Pozirk. More weather balloons carrying contraband cigarettes were launched from Belarus into Lithuania last night than the night before, according to Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the Baltic country\u2019s National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC). Speaking to LRT, Vitkauskas said &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/161717\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>October 27, Pozirk. The Lithuanian government has drafted a decision to close the border indefinitely in response to an influx of cigarette-smuggling weather balloons from Belarus, Prime Minister Inga Ruginien\u0117 said after today\u2019s meeting of the national security commission. she said that the decision provides for exceptions: this means that diplomats and diplomatic mail could [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":161728,"template":"","rubric":[21,16,30],"class_list":["post-161755","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-economy","rubric-politics","rubric-security"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Lithuania drafts decision to close border with Belarus indefinitely | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"October 27, Pozirk. The Lithuanian government has drafted a decision to close the border indefinitely in response to an influx of cigarette-smuggling\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/161755\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lithuania drafts decision to close border with Belarus indefinitely | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"October 27, Pozirk. 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