NATO Member To Start Shooting Down Menacing Contraband Balloons Out Of Belarus

NATO member Lithuania is complaining about the latest aerial threat to its airspace: balloons. The government announced Monday that it is closing the border with Belarus after repeat incursions into Lithuanian and European Union airspace of highly menacing smuggler balloons out of Belarus.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė announced, “Lithuania plans to close its border with Belarus in response to repeated incursions by balloons carrying contraband, but certain exemptions will apply.”

“A government meeting will take place on Wednesday. We are already prepared to approve a decision to close the border with Belarus indefinitely,” Ruginienė told reporters.

Already Vilnius Airport has been deeply impacted by the balloon sightings and incursions, with a Sunday shutdown. Incidents of balloons entering the Lithuanian capital area stretch back to Oct.5th – and repeat instances last week reportedly disrupted over 170 flights, delaying some 20,000 passengers, local media indicates.

Two key border crossings with Belarus have also been closed by Lithuania – though these tensions with Belarus, which forms a ‘Union State’ with Russia, extend back to near the start of the Ukraine war.

Authorities in Lithuania accuse smugglers of using weather balloons to transport primarily cigarettes and other contraband from Belarus to circumvent sanctions as well as any EU entry fees.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has been accused of provocations at the border, or at least looking the other way while the smuggling operations grow, in order to “pressure on Lithuania by testing our resilience.“

Prime Minister Ruginienė has warned further that the border closure “sends a clear signal to Belarus that no hybrid attack will be tolerated here, and we will take the strictest possible measures to stop such actions.”

She’s going so far as to threaten to shootdown these menacing balloons:

Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene has said Lithuania will start to shoot down smuggler balloons crossing from Belarus and also shut its border crossings with the neighboring country following repeated interruptions to its air traffic.

Lithuania spent much of last week battling balloons — literally.

– For 4 days over the last week, smuggling balloons from Belarus disrupted air traffic and shut down airports.
– Officials call it a “crisis” and “psychological operation” meant to test Lithuania’s resilience.
– In… pic.twitter.com/O8uoUFp2T5

— Linas Kojala (@LinasKojala) October 27, 2025

Additionally, Ruginienė may this week call for NATO Article 4 consultations with defense allies to discuss the airspace incursions, also coming on the heels of Estonia alleging Russian warplanes of a couple of significant violations of its skies.

In Western Europe, EU officials are talking about erecting a joint ‘drone wall’ especially in the east, to protect Europe’s skies from potential Russian aerial incursions and threats.