Remains of Two Weather Balloons Found Near Belarusian Border in Lithuania

Reform.news Editorial Team · 2 October 2026, 21:11

https://reform.news/en/remains-of-two-weather-balloons-found-near-belarusian-border-in-lithuania/

On the morning of September 30, Lithuanian border guards found the remains of two weather balloons near the border with Belarus and detained two local residents in a car who were suspected of tracking the balloons.

Lithuanian border guards stopped an Audi Q7 near the village of Liberiškės. Two men, aged 25 and 19, were inside. The car had Lithuanian license plates registered to another vehicle, and its vehicle identification number had been destroyed. The border guards suspect the men were involved in cigarette smuggling from Belarus.

About 400 meters from the car, they found the remains of a balloon and equipment believed to have been used to transport illegal cigarettes. Another set of similar items was found about 600 meters from that location, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service reported.

A pretrial investigation has been launched into the forgery, illegal destruction or alteration of vehicle identification numbers.