Lithuania declared a state of emergency on Tuesday due to threats to public safety from smuggled balloons originating in Belarus, the government said.
Lithuania accuses Belarus of allowing smugglers to use weather balloons to transport contraband cigarettes across the border, repeatedly forcing Vilnius airport to shut down, disrupting air traffic.
– The state of emergency was declared not only because of disruptions in civil aviation, but also because of the interests of national security – said Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratović at a government session that was broadcast live.
The declaration gives greater operational freedom to the military, allowing it to act in coordination with the police or independently, Kondratovic added, though he did not elaborate.
The duration of the emergency measures was not immediately clear.
Belarus, which has allowed its territory to be used for Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, has denied responsibility for the balloons and accused Lithuania of provocations, including allegedly sending a drone to drop “extremist material”.
Lithuania, a member of NATO and the European Union that was once part of the Soviet Union, has dismissed the allegations as false.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
