Balloons sent by Belarusians will be shot down, says Lithuania's PM

Lithuania's prime minister has authorised the shooting down of smuggling balloons that cross the border from Russia's ally Belarus, calling them "hybrid attacks", in an echo of the term used to describe Moscow's destabilisation efforts.

- Jon Henley

Incursions by balloons carrying contraband cigarettes prompted the Nato and EU member state to close Vilnius airport four times last week and shut its border crossings with Belarus temporarily.

"Today we have decided to take the strictest measures, there is no other way," Inga Ruginienė said yesterday, adding that her government may also discuss invoking article of Nato's treaty to call security consultations.

Vilnius has said the balloons are being sent by smugglers, but blames the authoritarian president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, for not stopping them.

Ruginienė told a press conference the incidents were "hybrid attacks" and announced the closure of Lithuania's border crossings with Belarus, except for travel by diplomats and by EU citizens leaving Belarus.