Vilnius officially notified Minsk about the closure of the Lithuanian-Belarusian border
The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry has sent a note of protest to Belarus over incidents with weather probes used by smugglers and announced the closure of the state border “until further notice”.
“Lithuania has once again expressed its strong protest to Belarus over the constant violations of Lithuanian airspace. Lithuania considers the deliberate inaction of Belarusian state bodies to be a hybrid attack and is closing the state border with Belarus until further notice”, – The statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reads.
A representative of the Belarusian Embassy was summoned to the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry due to an incident that occurred on the evening of October 26, when a swarm of weather probes launched from Belarusian territory violated Lithuanian airspace and posed a threat to civil aviation and public safety.
On the night of October 28, Lithuania closed border crossings with Belarus after another incident in its airspace. The restrictions will be in effect at least until a government meeting scheduled for Wednesday. During this meeting, a decision to close the border for an indefinite period may be made. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that he does not rule out the possibility of a long-term closure of the Lithuanian-Belarusian border.
Last week, Lithuania suspended the work of border crossings three times due to recorded flights of weather probes from Belarusian territory that were used for smuggling. Vilnius Airport also temporarily suspended operations in connection with these events.
