Lithuania to reopen border crossings with Russia-allied Belarus after tensions over balloons
Lithuania’s border with Belarus to reopen after airport balloon row
- Lithuania has decided to reopen two border crossings with Belarus, Medininkai and Šalčininkai, weeks after their closure.
- The crossings were initially shut due to disruptions at Vilnius airport caused by balloons used for cigarette smuggling, which Lithuania viewed as a deliberate act by Belarus.
- The decision is expected to ease the return of Lithuanian trucks that were stranded in Belarus, following demands from Minsk to fully reopen the border.
- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenka had threatened to seize the stranded vehicles, denouncing the closure as a "mad scam" and "hybrid war".
- Lithuania warned that the border could be shut again if further airspace violations, such as balloons or drones, reappear.