Contraband balloons pose a persistent threat to Lithuania and Poland, linked to hybrid warfare and smuggling.
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Contraband balloons pose an ongoing threat to Lithuania, with Poland also reporting dangers. Polish military sources stated that balloons were detected near Polish airspace, leading to temporary civil aviation restrictions in the Palancice region, though no danger to residents was reported. The military identified the balloons as meteorological ones used to smuggle cheap cigarettes from Belarus into Lithuania and Poland. Lithuania has experienced a significant increase in these incidents, with Vilnius airport operations being paralyzed 15 times between October and December. Polish Foreign Minister RadosÅ‚aw Sikorski described the balloon shipments as a form of hybrid warfare, linking provocations to the Minsk regime’s nature. Lithuanian Foreign Minister JÅ«ras Taminskas called for a unified European response, stating that the unpredictable regime in their neighborhood violates international rules, and urged the European Commission to initiate support for the Eastern border region against these threats. Taminskas noted that the balloons specifically target Lithuanian airports to disrupt operations. Lithuania has requested EU assistance and funding to combat the smuggling, but concrete non-financial measures are difficult to define as neither Lithuania nor other EU countries have experience controlling such attacks. The Lithuanian government has declared a state of emergency due to the balloon crisis. Furthermore, on January 27th, Lithuanian airspace was violated, causing Vilnius airport operations to halt three times, with the National Crisis Management Center reporting the most intense activity of the year, including the detection of eight balloons carrying contraband cigarettes and the arrest of four individuals.
