Some 25 small hot-air balloons entered Lithuanian airspace late on Saturday (October 4) and forced the shutdown of Vilnius Airport overnight, delaying flights for hours, authorities said. The balloons interfered with 30 flights, impacting some 6,000 passengers, according to the NATO and EU member state’s National Crisis Management Center. Flights resumed at 4:50am (1:50am GMT) on Sunday.
The balloons were later discovered to be carrying smuggled cigarettes across the border from Belarus – Moscow’s main ally in Europe – and have come at a time when Europe is on high alert after intrusions into NATO’s airspace reached an unprecedented scale last month. Two of the balloons flew above Vilnius Airport, according to spokesperson Darius Buta. More than two dozen reached the wider Vilnius County. The balloons were recorded flying between roughly 8:45pm on Saturday and 4:30am on Sunday. Border police recovered 11 balloons and some 18,000 packs of smuggled cigarettes in various locations, Mr Buta told The Associated Press. In response, Lithuania declared a 60-mile no-fly zone parallel to its border with Belarus so that its military could react to violations.
Some European officials described the incidents as Moscow testing NATO’s response, which raised questions about how prepared the alliance is against Russia. Lithuania and the rest of the Baltics are especially concerned. On July 10, a drone identified as a Russian-made Gerbera flew into Lithuania from Belarus and crashed in Vilnius County.
Another crashed at a military training ground on July 28 and was found a week later. The military later said it was carrying an explosive device. After those incidents, the parliament voted to allow the armed forces to shoot down any unmanned drone violating its airspace.
Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital, is located some 25 miles west of the border with Russian ally Belarus. Belarusian smugglers are increasingly using the balloons – which are much cheaper than drones – for smuggling cigarettes into the EU, Mr Buta said.
Similar incidents, but with fewer balloons, were reported in August. Last year, 966 hot-air balloons entering from Belarus were intercepted by Lithuanian authorities. There have been 544 recorded this year.
“Both smuggling balloons and drones are criminal activities, but not as provocations or acts of sabotage,” Mr Buta added.
Footage showed the strange-looking aerial objects moving through the darkness overnight, while later a package tied to a large white balloon was photographed in a field.
This incident comes as Russia said it is already at war with the West due to its support of Ukraine. A senior Russian official has highlighted dozens of British defence-linked sites, implying they could be directly targeted by Vladimir Putin’s missiles. Dmitry Rogozin – a senator and war combatant, formerly deputy premier and space agency chief – threatened that the UK will become “deadly dangerous”.
