On Wednesday, the Lithuanian Cabinet of Ministers decided to close the border with Belarus until November 30 in response to issues related to smuggled weather balloons. According to Delfi, this decision entails the closure of the last two border crossing points between Lithuania and Belarus: ‘Medininkai’ and ‘Shalchininkai.’ The latter will be completely shut down.
The ‘Medininkai’ crossing point will operate under restrictions, allowing only certain categories of individuals, such as diplomats and those delivering diplomatic mail, as well as persons traveling in transit to or from Kaliningrad. Citizens of Lithuania, EU member states, and foreigners with temporary residence permits in Lithuania will also be able to return through this crossing. Additionally, in exceptional cases, other individuals may cross the border with the approval of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The restrictions at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border will remain in effect until midnight on November 30.
Lithuanian Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovich noted that if necessary, the border closure could be extended. He emphasized that the situation will be reassessed based on the trends regarding smuggling and other related factors.
An exception was also made in the decree for EU, NATO, Andorran, Monacan, San Marino, Ukrainian citizens, representatives of the Holy See, and their family members, as well as technical staff of diplomatic missions from these countries in Belarus who hold Belarusian citizenship.
On Monday, Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene stated that the country plans to close the border with Belarus in response to repeated violations of Lithuanian airspace by balloons carrying smuggled goods.
This statement followed several incidents last week when Lithuanian airports closed four times due to the launch of weather balloons with contraband cigarettes from Belarus, leading to over 140 canceled flights affecting more than 20,000 passengers.