Lithuanian authorities have imposed a month-long border ban on crossings with Belarus in response to repeated incidents involving weather balloons used for cigarette smuggling. The National Crisis Management Centre announced this, emphasizing that such measures are necessary to ensure airspace safety.

A Lithuanian government spokesman confirmed its intention to close border crossings if Minsk does not halt the launches.

"We cannot allow further violations that threaten our sovereignty," — a source in the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted.

The decision followed the fourth closure of Vilnius Airport in a week on October 26 due to a balloon infestation, which delayed hundreds of flights.

In turn, Lithuanian residents, dissatisfied with the airport's disruptions, proposed a symmetrical response: launching drones and weather balloons toward Belarus.

"There's a Belarusian nuclear power plant 20 kilometers from the border, and that could be an argument against their provocations." — local activists stated on social media, emphasizing the risks to the nuclear facility.

Experts note that such proposals have not yet received official support, but reflect growing public anger.