What are Belarusian balloons doing in Lithuania's airspace?
Vilnius Airport had to suspend operations four times last week due to several unidentified objects entering its airspace. According to government sources, they turned out to be helium-filled balloons like those used by meteorologists, coming from Belarus. In recent times such balloons have been used to smuggle cigarettes into the EU. Lithuania has responded by almost completely closing its border with Belarus.
Old smuggling trick as a hybrid weapon
In a Telegram post republished by Echo, Vilnius-based journalist Alexander Plyushchev suspects that Moscow is behind the balloon flights:
“I suspect that this is not simply a case of smuggling. ... Firstly, it's not normal to send contraband through airspace reserved for air traffic. In the past such flights were carried out far from such areas. And secondly, the number of balloons has now multiplied. It seems to me that Russia has simply recognised that what was originally a purely commercial activity is also an extremely effective hybrid weapon. I wouldn't be surprised if they simply hired these Belarusian smugglers. The damage this week alone is likely to be considerable, far greater than the cost of a few dozen balloons.”
Resolute defence measures needed
Postimees praises Lithuania's decision that such balloons should be shot down from now on:
“The shooting down of such balloons has so far been complicated by the fact that Vilnius is very close to the Belarusian border and Lithuania is not allowed to destroy them if they are in the airspace of its neighbouring country. On Monday, Lithuania confirmed that the policy of 'observe and gather evidence' that has applied so far will be replaced by the principle of 'neutralise as soon as it is safe to do so'. That is commendable. Of course, we in Estonia must also follow Lithuania's fight against the balloons closely and be prepared for similar incidents here.”