{"id":167374,"date":"2025-12-09T13:21:33","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T10:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/167374\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"lithuania-to-maintain-extreme-situation-for-at-least-a-month","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/167374\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithuania to maintain \u201cextreme situation\u201d for at least a month"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (15min.lt \/ Pozirk's still)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

December 9, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Lithuania declared an \u201cextreme situation\u201d\u2014a low-level emergency\u2014earlier today for an indefinite period, Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovi\u010d told reporters in Vilnius.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that in a month we will return to this decision and review whether we still need it and whether it should be extended,\u201d Delfi <\/em>quoted him as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any extension will depend on whether security forces can cope with weather balloons used to deliver smuggled cigarettes from Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A full state of emergency is declared only in the event of a threat to the constitutional system or public order, he explained. \u201cWe do not see such a threat today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interior Minister Kondratovi\u010d is in charge of the emergency response operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The extreme situation gives the military \u201cspecial powers to act more effectively\u2014both together with units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and independently,\u201d Kondratovi\u010d said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tensions between Belarus and Lithuania over cigarette-smuggling balloons have been rising since mid-October, prompting Lithuanian authorities to close the border and suspend operations at Vilnius International Airport, which is located close to the Belarusian border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, Kondratovi\u010d said nearly 600 weather balloons and 197 drones had been spotted in Lithuania since January. The incidents disrupted 350 flights, affecting about 51,000 passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vilnius International Airport has suspended operations for more than 60 hours since October, most recently on December 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government stressed that the extreme situation has been declared across the entire country, not just in specific regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vilnius International Airport is operating as usual as long as security conditions allow, it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery night, police, the Border Guard Service, the Criminal Service of Customs and the Military Police raid border areas, inspect thousands of vehicles and individuals, intercept balloons and seize contraband goods. Police are directly supported by the army, which tests means of neutralizing targets and participates in monitoring the airspace,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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