To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to an online
browser that
supports HTML5
video
Lithuania – a strategically essential Nato-member for securing the Baltic – has declared a state of emergency over security posed by Russia-allied Belarus.
Vilnius International Airport was again forced to shut over balloons, which the federal government says were deployed by smugglers transporting cigarettes in recent weeks.
Hundreds of passengers were stranded as Europe stays on alert over recent intrusions into Nato airspace through the war in Ukraine.
Prime minister Inga Ruginien warned: ‘In combating the Belarusian hybrid attack, we must take the strictest measures and defend the areas most affected by this attack.’
The announcement followed a Cabinet meeting of the Baltic state, which is a robust backer of Ukraine in its fight against Russian forces.
The national emergency means the military will find a way to patrol the border area along with other uniformed services and receive extra rights from parliament, resembling to conduct searches or detain people.
While the balloons are used to smuggle cigarettes into Lithuania, officials see their numbers and trajectories as deliberate acts of disruption orchestrated by Belarus.
In keeping with the Lithuanian government, the Vilnius International Airport has been closed for greater than 60 hours since October on account of the threat posed to civil aviation.
Greater than 350 flights and roughly 51,000 passengers have been affected altogether.
Interior minister Vladislav Kondratovi’ said Lithuanian prosecutors have launched an investigation into the balloons and the key services would supply information concerning the reference to the neighbouring regime.
He said: ‘I actually have no information that the Belarusian side is attempting to curb the senders of the balloons. And that is certainly one of the proofs that it is a hybrid attack.’
In October, Lithuanian authorities closed two border crossings in response to the airspace violations.
Responding from Belarus, authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko denounced Lithuania’s move to shut the border as a ‘mad scam’.
He said it was a part of a ‘hybrid war’ against his country and suggested that Lithuania must combat smuggling of contraband.
The balloons couldn’t harm civil aviation, he claimed, and as a substitute, the Belarusian leader accused Vilnius of ‘politicizing’ the issue.
‘Of you would like normal relations, sit down on the table and discuss these issues. We’re ready to try this,’ Lukashenko said during a session of Belarus’ security council.
Belarus’ deputy foreign minister Igor Sekreta also urged Lithuania to fulfill on the negotiating table, saying: ‘For some reason, Lithuania perceives any contact at a political level with the Belarusian side as a defeat.’
Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Sir Keir Starmer leads tributes to UK armed forces member killed in ‘tragic accident’ in Ukraine
MORE: Minister to issue sobering warning about Putin’s ‘cyber army’ within the UK
MORE: Recent Ukraine peace plan in works after Zelensky rules out surrendering land to Putin