Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (SBGS) commented on the suspension of operations at the Medininkai and Šalčininkai checkpoints on the border with Belarus. The SBGS said the decision was made on Wednesday evening by Commander Rustamas Liubajevas.
“This is a measure to ensure Lithuania’s security, related to the launching of balloons from Belarus into Lithuania at night.
At such hours, traffic and flows through both of the above-mentioned checkpoints are minimal. No special events or incidents related to the closures were observed either on their premises or on approaches to them until Wednesday morning,” the border guard service said.
As a reminder, from the evening of October 21 Vilnius Airport was closed due to meteorological balloons flying toward the Lithuanian capital from the Belarusian side. Thirty flights were affected and more than 4,000 passengers were impacted. The airport only resumed operations in the morning.