"In the most recent incident, operations at Vilnius airport were suspended for 11 hours on Saturday night. Lithuanian authorities said at least 60 balloons were flown from the woods in Belarus, 40 of them reaching areas critical for aviation safety and making it one of the most serious incidents to date. Lithuanian aviation authorities said the balloons appeared to be sent at regular time intervals and directed at the runways."
"While the balloons are used to smuggle cigarettes into Lithuania, officials in Vilnius see their numbers and trajectories as deliberate acts of disruption orchestrated by Belarus, a close Russian ally, as Europe remains on high alert after drone intrusions into NATO's airspace reached an unprecedented scale in September and the Russian invasion of Ukraine nears its fourth year."
""This is a cynical hybrid attack against our economy, aviation security, and the entire nation," Taurimas Valys, Lithuania's deputy minister of foreign affairs, said about the incident."
Tensions between Lithuania and Belarus have escalated after meteorological balloons from Belarus repeatedly forced closure of Vilnius main airport, leaving thousands of passengers stranded. Lithuanian officials say the balloons, while used to smuggle cigarettes, showed numbers and trajectories consistent with deliberate disruption. In the most recent incident operations were suspended for 11 hours after at least 60 balloons were launched from Belarusian woods, with 40 entering aviation-critical areas. Aviation authorities reported the balloons appeared timed and directed at runways. Lithuanian leaders described the episode as a cynical hybrid attack and Minsk summoned Lithuania's charge d'affaires while warning it may take measures to protect its sovereignty.
Read at www.npr.org
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