Lithuania Reopens Border Checkpoints — State Border Committee

Lithuania reopened its border checkpoints with Belarus at 9:00 a.m., the Belarusian State Border Committee reported.

“As of 9:00, movement has resumed. Lithuanian control services are processing vehicles in both directions — entering and exiting the country.

Queues at the checkpoints for departure from the Republic of Belarus have grown only slightly and currently amount to about 40 passenger cars, 1,510 cargo trucks, and 3 buses,” the statement said.

Earlier, checkpoint operations were suspended at Lithuania’s initiative. The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service cited security concerns related to a mass launch of meteorological balloons used by cigarette smugglers. The incident involved several dozen balloons.

So far, border guards have detected eight meteorological balloons carrying contraband. The balloons also caused the temporary closure of Vilnius Airport, which affected 30 flights and around 4,000 passengers. Lithuanian authorities have not ruled out longer closures of border checkpoints if similar incidents occur again.