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The Baltic nation plans to eliminate balloons used to smuggle cigarettes from neighbouring Belarus, the country's leader announced.

This decision follows after balloons entering Lithuanian airspace disrupted air traffic on several occasions recently, with weekend disruptions, while authorities suspended frontier checkpoints during these events.

International border access continues restricted due to the ongoing aerial incidents.

The government leader stated, "we are ready to take maximum response protocols during unauthorized aerial intrusions."

Official Measures

Announcing the actions at a press conference, the Prime Minister confirmed military forces were implementing "complete operational protocols" to shoot down balloons.

Concerning border measures, the Prime Minister confirmed diplomatic movement continues between the two countries, and EU citizens and Lithuanians can enter from Belarus, however general movement continues suspended.

"This represents our clear message to foreign authorities and saying that no hybrid attack will be tolerated within our territory, and we'll implement maximum countermeasures to stop such attacks," she said.

There has been no immediate response from Belarus.

Diplomatic Measures

Authorities will discuss with international allies about the security challenges presented with possible discussions about implementing Nato's Article 4 - a provision enabling alliance discussion regarding security matters, specifically concerning defense matters - officials noted.

Airport Disruptions

National air facilities experienced triple closures at the weekend due to weather balloons originating from neighboring territory, impacting over hundred flights and thousands of travelers, per transportation authority data.

Earlier this month, multiple aerial devices crossed into Lithuanian airspace, resulting in numerous canceled flights and passenger inconveniences, according to emergency management officials.

The phenomenon is not new: by autumn measurements, numerous unauthorized objects tracked entering airspace across the frontier in recent months, an NCMC spokesman said, with nearly thousand incidents during previous year.

Regional Situation

Additional aviation facilities - including in Copenhagen and Munich - experienced similar aerial disruptions, involving unmanned aerial vehicles, over past months.