Lithuania mulls border closure amid spike in balloons carrying cigarettes from Belarus

October 22, Pozirk. Vilnius may close its border with Belarus for an extended period if the launches of unauthorized weather balloons from Belarus continue, said Deividas Matulionis, the Lithuanian president’s chief national security advisor.

He made the statement after Lithuania briefly halted traffic at its shared border with Belarus this morning over incursions of cigarette-smuggling balloons.

Vilmantas Vitkauskas of the National Crisis Management Center described the incident as a “coordinated operation” as balloons of Belarusian origin were found across five Lithuanian districts.

Lithuanian authorities have so far reportedly located eight balloons and arrested one suspect.

The incursions disrupted the operation of the Vilnius Airport, which is located close to the border, Delfi reported. Earlier this month, 25 cigarette-smuggling weather balloons were flown into Lithuania from Belarus, affecting about 30 flights at Vilnius Airport.

Matulionis called for “stricter action” in relations with the Belarusian authorities, noting that Minsk should be aware of the potential border closure. The National Security Commission will meet later today to discuss possible response measures, he added.

Lithuania may introduce harsher punishment for smugglers and should find a way to seize the smuggled goods faster, he said. Shooting down balloons that can reach an altitude of up to 6 kilometers may pose more security risks, he noted.

Meanwhile, Polish border guards detained four people this week—three Belarusians and a Ukrainian—for allegedly smuggling a batch of 1,500 contraband cigarettes by car. The detainees were charged with criminal offenses.

In all, border guards seized 185,000 zlotys ($51,400) worth of tobacco products over the past few days.

On October 21, three weather balloons with cigarettes lacking Polish excise stamps were found in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. The previous day, border guards found another balloon with a similar batch. Two batches were spotted on October 19.

According to the Polish Border Guard, about 120 aerial smuggling incidents have been recorded in the voivodeship since the beginning of 2025, involving cigarettes worth over 2.9 million zlotys. Twenty-five people were detained.