Lithuania Declares State Of Emergency Over Smuggling Balloons — Fears Of Russia-Linked Reconnaissance

Lithuania has declared a state of emergency after repeated waves of balloons launched from Belarus disrupted flights and forced Vilnius airport to close at least nine times. Vilnius says the launches — which it links to a wider Russian hybrid-warfare campaign — involve smugglers but may also pose a national security threat.

The emergency order expands powers for the military, police, border guards and security services, allowing them to stop and search vehicles, carry out identity checks and restrict access to specific areas as they pursue those responsible for the launches.

Officials say several hundred balloons have been released in recent weeks. Most are tethered to crates of cigarettes: launched from Belarus, retrieved in Lithuania and then sold on the black market. The air-traffic disruptions have caused repeated closures at Vilnius airport and significant travel delays for passengers.

Senior Lithuanian officials have warned the balloons could be probing for gaps in air defences and, in theory, might be fitted with surveillance equipment or incendiary devices. Authorities describe the pattern as a possible hybrid attack carried out with Minsk's tacit approval and with potential backing from Moscow.

“The state of emergency is announced not only due to civil aviation disruptions but also due to interests of national security,” Vladislav Kondratovic, Lithuania’s interior minister, said on Tuesday.

Belarus, led by Alexander Lukashenko, denies responsibility and has countered by accusing Lithuania of using drones to drop what Minsk calls "extremist material" — an allegation Vilnius rejects. Lithuanian officials previously described the balloon swarms to the press as a hybrid attack on the West.

Lithuania first declared a state of emergency in 2021 after Belarus orchestrated migrant flows across the border to create disruption. Officials now say the cigarette-smuggling operation could be a cover for a joint Minsk–Moscow effort to map Lithuania’s air-defence response times ahead of any broader confrontation involving NATO.

“If you are preparing for war, you need to know what Lithuania’s reaction times are,” Eitvydas Bajarūnas, Lithuania’s former ambassador to the UK and Ambassador-at-Large for Hybrid Threats, told reporters. “These balloons are not strictly military, but they are testing NATO’s response times and its air-defence reactions.”

The government says the new measures will be narrowly targeted and are not intended to cause broad disruption for the public, while investigations continue into the origin, purpose and operators behind the balloon launches.