Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged a strong protest with Belarus over repeated and increasing violations of the country’s airspace. The Belarusian chargé d’affaires ad interim was summoned to the ministry today and handed a note of protest.
The ministry recalled that on the evening of 21 October, radar detected the illegal incursion of a group of weather balloons from Belarus into Lithuania’s airspace, creating a threat to civil aviation and public safety. Because the regular operations of Vilnius Airport were disrupted, financial losses were also incurred, the ministry noted.
The ministry stressed that such actions are a gross violation of international law and called on Belarus to ensure proper control over its airspace, reminded Minsk of previous incidents, and demanded that they be investigated and prevented from recurring.
The Foreign Ministry warned that if illegal violations of the airspace are repeated, Lithuania reserves the right to take appropriate countermeasures.
As a reminder, due to the mass launch of weather balloons carrying contraband from Belarus, Lithuania suspended operations at border crossing points for several hours. Operations at Vilnius Airport were also suspended. Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said Lithuania will close border crossing points on the frontier with Belarus if the mass launch of balloons from Belarus happens again.