A NATO country has declared a nationwide “state of emergency” on Tuesday as balloons continue to fly from Belarus violating their airspace.
The Lithuanian government will now “legitimise the involvement of the military” and coordinate their responses with other authorities.
Vilnius has warned that the balloons pose a national security threat, and a threat to human life, property and the environment.
Officials have accused the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko of effectively weaponising their “hybrid attacks” on the Baltic state, the Kyiv Independent reported.
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Lithuania’s Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic said they will maintain the state of emergency for a month.
LRT broadcaster reported Kondratovic saying, “By declaring a state of emergency today, we are legitimising the involvement of the military (…) and indeed, every evening quite a few units go out together with the police, conduct patrols, monitor the area, and detect shipments.”
The NATO country shares a border with Kaliningrad which is heavily armed as well as Belarus.
This past year Lithuania has intercepted more than 500 balloons from Belarus, they have been found carrying GPS trackers and illegal cigarettes.
Lithuanian officials have said the future violations could see the balloons carrying explosives or spy cameras.
Officials believe that these balloons are helping the Kremlin to find weak areas along NATO’s eastern flank.
On Saturday Lithuania’s Prime Minister said, “I am listening to their [experts] opinion, but we will announce it [state of emergency] next week.
“If the situation worsens, we do not rule out the possibility of going further.”
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