Lithuania accuses Belarus of ‘cynical hybrid attack’ as balloons disrupt airport

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Tensions between Lithuania and Belarus have escalated after meteorological balloons from Belarus forced Lithuania to repeatedly shut down its main airport in the past weeks, leaving thousands of people stranded.

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.

‘A cynical hybrid attack’

FILE - In this undated photo released by the State Border Guard Service, an officer inspects a balloon used to carry cigarettes into Lithuania, because Belarussian smugglers often use them to ferry the contraband into the European Union (State Border Guard Service via AP, File)

In the most recent incident, operations at Vilnius airport were suspended for 11 hours on Saturday night.