Инга Ругинене на литовско-беларусской границе 8 ноября 2025 года. Фото: facebook.com/inga.ruginiene
Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė said that the situation with the hybrid attack from Belarus — involving smugglers launching weather balloons across the border — is gradually stabilizing: the airspace is being closed less frequently, and control over incidents has strengthened. According to the head of government, Vilnius has received a letter from Minsk proposing the start of negotiations, which will be reviewed, LRT reported.
The Prime Minister noted that the hybrid attack on Lithuania — the weather balloons violating the country’s airspace — is under control. She said that recently the airspace has been closed less often and confirmed that a letter had been received from Belarus about starting talks.
“We will study this letter and make the appropriate decisions,” she said.
“You can probably see that we are closing the airport less frequently, that we are managing to control not only smuggling but also the balloons themselves flying toward the airport. This is a positive sign,” the Prime Minister told journalists after a government meeting on Wednesday.
Ruginienė also noted that government agencies are working intensively, with mobile teams on duty every night.
“I want to state responsibly that if neighboring Belarus shows positive results and contributes to ending the [hybrid] attack, we will certainly make different decisions,” she assured.
The Prime Minister emphasized that warnings about the dangers of traveling to and establishing economic ties with Belarus have been repeatedly issued.
“I would like to address the carriers themselves so that they do not take risks every time they decide to travel through unsafe countries. We did not close the borders overnight — we talked for two weeks about the possibility of such measures. So this should not be news. We are doing everything possible to bring the carriers home. (…) We see no goodwill from Belarus,” she said.
When asked whether Lithuania had adopted a position of refusing negotiations with Minsk and how she assessed pressure from the carriers, Ruginienė replied that the goal was to stop the hybrid attack.
“We see positive signs, but we need to be sure. As soon as we are confident, we will immediately open the borders and allow movement. The borders are closed to control the hybrid attack using balloons,” she added.
Ruginienė stressed that the trucks are being held hostage by the Belarusian side and that if anyone should be protested against, it should be the Belarusian regime.
“Everything has already been done. Laurynas Kasčiūnas’s proposal came too late,” Ruginienė said when asked about the idea of appealing to the United States for help with the stranded trucks.
According to her, the issue of closing the border was discussed with Lithuania’s partners.
On Wednesday, the Lithuanian government approved amendments to the Criminal Code toughening penalties for smuggling when it poses a threat to public safety. The draft, prepared by the Ministry of the Interior, has been sent to the Seimas and will be considered under an expedited procedure.
“These amendments were prepared in response to national security threats linked to the recent rise in smuggling using weather balloons,” said Interior Minister Vladyslav Kondratovič. “The current penalties for smuggling are considered ineffective.”
According to the explanatory note attached to the draft, smugglers’ balloons typically carry loads of around 1,500 packs of cigarettes, worth about 6,000 euros.
Smuggling goods of such value does not carry criminal liability, only an administrative fine that can reach 6,000 euros.
The ministry stated that the current legal framework is not sufficiently clear or consistent in cases involving unmanned aerial vehicles, including smugglers’ balloons, which pose significant threats and risks to civil aviation and public safety.
The amendments were prepared after, over the past month, balloon flights from Belarus disrupted operations at the airports of Vilnius and Kaunas.
These incidents led the government to decide to close the border with Belarus for one month — until November 30.