Lukashenka Says Balloon-Borne Smuggling Devices Pose No Threat to Aircraft

Alyaksandr Lukashenka said that meteorological balloons used to smuggle cigarettes from Belarus into Lithuania do not pose a danger to aircraft, and reported the detention of five smugglers in Belarus, BelTA writes.

Lukashenka argued that such balloons cannot disrupt airport operations. Lithuania has previously had to suspend operations at Vilnius airport during incursions of these balloons from Belarus.

“A plane takes off — a clean take-off. You can see there are no balloons on the runway. It climbs high — 10–11 kilometres. And the balloons do not fly at that altitude,” he said. According to him, consultations with pilots confirmed that the balloons do not pose a serious problem.

However, meteorological balloons can reach altitudes of 20–30 kilometres, higher than the range mentioned by Lukashenka.

He also spoke about an operation to detain five Belarusian citizens involved in cigarette smuggling using balloons.

“Kubrakou reported to me on the completion of the operation. They detained five of our Belarusian smugglers right at the border. They rented an empty house — bought it cheaply from someone’s relatives. Inside were packs of cigarettes, a gas cylinder, balloons… everything for smuggling. The police detained them. Criminals — they had been convicted multiple times. Real bandits,” Lukashenka said.

He added that he does not see it as necessary to stop such smuggling inside Belarus given Lithuania’s sanctions.

“My position is: you imposed sanctions. Now what — should we catch these smugglers here, who buy our goods for good money and send them to people in need in Lithuania? But I promised: we will also look into who is doing what inside Belarus,” he said.

He also claimed that Lithuanian citizens are allegedly involved in the smuggling.

Lukashenka had previously made similar remarks last autumn, saying he did not see grounds to punish smugglers.

“I do not see why people should be punished. They wanted to earn money — they did. If they had stolen the cigarettes… but they paid for them. What claims can there be against us?” he said.