Lithuania’s Vilnius airport shut over suspected balloon airspace disruption

The airport, located some 30 km (19 miles) from Belarus, has been closed more than 10 times since early October over similar incidents, and was last closed on December 3.

Lithuania says balloons are sent by smugglers transporting cigarettes from Belarus, but also blames Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, for not stopping what it calls a form of “hybrid attack”.