Head of Lithuanian Border Guard Service: The issue of balloons from Belarus is being blown out of proportion
Lithuanian State Border Guard Service chief Rustamas Liubajevas believes that the problem of smuggled balloons from Belarus has been excessively inflated recently. He emphasizes that such meteorological balloons can indeed pose a danger, especially in the airspace around airports, but this is only one of many ways of smuggling, Delfi.lt writes.
Photo: State Border Guard Service via AP, File
According to Rustam Liubayev, looking at the overall situation in the country, it seems that excessive attention is being paid to this one method, forgetting about other ways of smuggling into Lithuania and its overall volumes. He also believes that the hype around the balloons benefits the Lukashenko regime and is part of Minsk's hybrid actions.
Earlier, the Lithuanian government temporarily closed the border due to the increased launching of smuggled balloons. Recently, they have repeatedly caused disruptions in the operation of Lithuanian airports, including on Sunday night, when Vilnius Airport had to be closed twice. The issue of a hybrid attack from Belarus has been repeatedly considered at meetings of the National Security Commission and at various international levels.