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Authorities have decided to shoot down helium balloons carrying illicit goods from Belarus, the country's leader announced.

This decision follows after balloons entering Lithuanian airspace forced Vilnius Airport to close multiple times over the past week, with weekend disruptions, with the government also closing cross-border movement during each incident.

Border checkpoints will now be closed indefinitely due to the ongoing aerial incidents.

According to official declarations, "our nation stands prepared to implement even the most severe actions against airspace violations."

Government Response

Announcing the actions at a press conference, officials stated defense units were executing "every required action" to intercept unauthorized devices.

Regarding frontier restrictions, the Prime Minister confirmed diplomatic movement continues for cross-border diplomatic missions, with special provisions for EU and Lithuanian nationals, but no other movement will be allowed.

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

Official communications saw no quick answer from Minsk officials.

Diplomatic Measures

Lithuania plans to consult its allies about the security challenges presented and may discuss activating Nato's Article 4 - a provision enabling alliance discussion about national security issues, particularly involving territorial protection - she added.

Flight Cancellations

Lithuanian airports were closed three times over the weekend because of aerial devices from Belarus, disrupting air transport and passenger movement, according to Baltic News Service.

In recent weeks, several unauthorized objects traversed the border, resulting in numerous canceled flights and passenger inconveniences, Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre told the BBC.

These incidents continue previous patterns: as of 6 October, hundreds of aerial devices documented crossing borders from Belarus this year, an NCMC spokesman said, while 966 were recorded last year.

International Perspective

Other European airports - such as Scandinavian and German locations - have also been affected by air incursions, including drone sightings, during current period.