{"id":173458,"date":"2026-01-29T12:55:26","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T09:55:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/173458\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"polish-border-guards-overnight-airspace-violations-caused-by-smugglers-balloons","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/173458\/","title":{"rendered":"Polish border guards: overnight airspace violations caused by smugglers’ balloons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (Polish Border Guard)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

January 29, Pozirk. <\/em><\/strong>The Polish border guards have identified some of the objects that violated Polish airspace overnight as weather balloons used for smuggling, the agency’s press office reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Polish Border Guard and police keep monitoring the situation on the country’s eastern border and are in constant contact with the Operational Command of the Armed Forces,\u201d the message said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flying objects entered Polish airspace last night in the Podlaskie Voivodeship from Belarus, an earlier report said. The Polish military radars tracked the objects and temporarily restricted civilian aviation flights in the area for safety reasons. Airspace security was reportedly not affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polish authorities noted that similar incidents are part of a broader series of hybrid attacks Poland has recently faced from the east.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The incident came just one day after approximately 40 balloons entered the Lithuanian airspace from Belarus, disrupting operations at Vilnius International Airport. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lithuania handed a note of protest to the Belarusian charg\u00e9 d\u2019affaires over the mass incursion of balloons from Belarus overnight from January 27 to 28, the Lithuanian foreign ministry reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the note, the incursions affected five flights and around 700 passengers at Vilnius International Airport. The incident was described as a serious violation of international law and a threat to Lithuania\u2019s security and civil aviation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vilnius stressed that Lithuania reserves the right to restrict cross-border traffic and take other measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, Poland\u2019s foreign ministry also summoned Belarus\u2019 charg\u00e9 d\u2019affaires to demand explanations over the incursion of around 150 balloons into Polish airspace on January 17.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, Polish border guards detected 185 cigarette-smuggling weather balloons arriving from Belarus, carrying goods worth an estimated $1.2 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, Lithuania intercepted 635 balloons and 59 drones used to smuggle cigarettes from Belarus, according to the State Border Guard Service. A total of 171 people were arrested on suspicion of involvement in aerial smuggling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balloon incursions have previously caused tensions between Belarus and Lithuania. In late 2025, Vilnius declared an \u201cextreme situation,\u201d a low-level emergency, in response to what it described as a \u201chybrid attack from Belarus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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