After meeting with representatives of the institutions, the prime minister announced that starting Monday, the Lithuanian army would take all necessary measures, including kinetic ones, to shoot down the balloons. The prime minister did not specify what measures would be taken, citing the sensitivity of the information.
„They will start doing this and will do so actively. This is our way of sending a signal that we are ready and prepared to take even the most severe measures when our airspace is violated,“ she said.
In addition, according to the prime minister, the government plans to close the border with Belarus indefinitely on Wednesday.
„At the government meeting on Wednesday, we are already prepared to decide to close the border with Belarus indefinitely, with certain exceptions – diplomatic mail will be able to move, our and EU citizens will be able to enter our country, but all other movement will be closed,“ the prime minister announced.
Ruginienė said that the entire weekend had been busy.
„There were numerous agreements, consultations, and certain actions that yielded positive results, although, of course, we are all disappointed that our residents have experienced and continue to experience inconveniences when travelling by plane. We are doing everything we can to minimise this negative effect,“ the prime minister assured.
On Monday, according to her, the NSK meeting discussed not only what worked and what did not, but also developed a clear action plan – the ministries were given appropriate tasks.
Ruginienė indicated that the police and border guards are joining forces – an action plan has been developed to combat smugglers.
„I am sending a message to everyone who wants to engage in this activity – this week, we will also be taking active measures,“ warned Ruginienė.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has been tasked with coordinating an additional package of sanctions against Belarus together with the European Union (EU). Ruginienė indicated that she does not rule out the possibility of activating Article 4 of the NATO Treaty – the initiation of consultations with allies.
The MFA was also instructed to open a helpline to provide all necessary information and assistance to Lithuanian citizens stranded in Russian ports.
According to the prime minister, the Presidency's proposal to restrict transit to Kaliningrad was also discussed.
„We will close the border, including land transit. How long will this take? I hope that once we have the situation under control and send a clear message to Belarus, we may be able to take different decisions in the future. Today, a decision was made to take more stringent measures. There is no other way,“ she explained.
The prime minister then clarified that only the border with Belarus would be closed, not the border with Russia.
Why was the airspace closed?
Did the services provide information about the links between Lukashenko's regime and smuggling, evidence that Lukashenko's regime is involved in this process „through other hands“?
„We see their involvement through their inaction. And, of course, we consider this a hybrid attack, which is why all other measures are being activated,“ she confirmed.
The prime minister was also asked what has changed since last year, when smuggling balloons also flew to Lithuania, landing in the territory of Vilnius Airport, and that Lithuania is now constantly closing its airspace.
„Because last year we were blind chickens and didn't see many things. Thank God there was no disaster. We didn't see any moving objects, and no decision was made to close the airspace.
Thank God, no disaster occurred. Today, we have much better equipment that allows us to see much more information, so we assess the risks and believe that we must take action to protect our citizens,“ explained Rugieninė.
The prime minister added that due to the favourable wind direction, we also have more balloons.
The damage is enormous
Lithuanian Airports (LTOU) Vidas Kšanas, Director of the Safety, Security, and Resilience Department, announced on Monday that due to contraband balloons from Belarus, Lithuanian airspace was closed four times last week, disrupting more than 170 flights and affecting the travel plans of over 27,000 people.
In response, the Medininkai and Šalčininkai border crossing points with Belarus were also closed. Following the influx of balloons recorded on Sunday evening, they have been closed indefinitely.
For its part, the presidency says that, to control the situation, restrictions on transit to Kaliningrad and a more extended closure of the border with Belarus may be considered.