Lithuania declares state of emergency over balloons from Belarus

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By Andrius Sytas

VILNIUS, Dec 9 (Reuters) – Lithuania on Tuesday declared a state of emergency and asked parliament to authorise military support for police and border guards after a wave of smuggler balloons from Belarus repeatedly disrupted air traffic in recent months.

Vilnius airport has been closed several times due to the weather balloons, which Lithuania says are sent by smugglers transporting cigarettes and constitute a “hybrid attack” by Belarus, a close ally of Russia.

“The state of emergency is announced not only due to civil aviation disruptions but also due to interests of national security,” Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic told a government meeting broadcast live on Tuesday.

Belarus has denied responsibility for the balloons and accused Lithuania of provocations, including sending a drone to drop “extremist material”, which Lithuania denies.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday that Lithuania was exaggerating incidents with smuggler balloons and that Minsk did not want a war with its neighbours.

“What the Lithuanians are saying today is impossible and unrealistic,” Lukashenko said in a speech broadcast by state-run news agency Belta. “The issue is being exaggerated and politicised,” he said.

SEEKING EXTENDED POWERS FOR THE ARMY

The Lithuanian government asked parliament to grant the military powers to act in concert with police, border guards and security forces during the state of emergency, as well as on its own, Kondratovic said.

If parliament agrees, the army will be given permission to limit access to a territory, to stop and search vehicles, to perform checks on people, their documents and their belongings, and to detain those resisting or suspected of crimes.

The military would be permitted to use force for these functions, Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said. The emergency measures will last until the government calls them off.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on December 1 that the situation at the border was worsening, and called the balloon incursions a “hybrid attack” by Belarus that was “completely unacceptable”.

HISTORY OF BORDER TENSIONS

Lithuania also imposed a state of emergency in 2021 in the Belarus border region over what it said was a campaign by Minsk to send migrants across the border illegally.

The following year Vilnius announced a state of emergency following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, over fears that Lithuania could also become a target.

(Reporting by Andrius Sytas, additional reporting by Moscow newsroomWriting by Stine Jacobsen and Anna Ringstrom Editing by Terje Solsvik, Peter Graff and Ros Russell)