Lukashenko threatens to take 1,000 trucks at border
- Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has threatened to confiscate over 1,000 Lithuanian lorries currently stranded within his country.
- This warning follows Lithuania's closure of two border crossings with Belarus on 29 October, citing repeated incursions by weather balloons carrying smuggled cigarettes that disrupted air traffic.
- Lithuanian officials interpret these disruptions as part of broader anti-Western activities orchestrated by Russia-allied Belarus to undermine regional stability.
- Lukashenko denounced Lithuania's border closure as a 'mad scam' and a 'hybrid war', demanding the full reopening of the border to prevent the seizure of the vehicles.
- The tensions occur amidst heightened European alert over drone intrusions into NATO airspace, with Lukashenko indicating he would discuss the border issue with Washington.