Lithuania reopens border crossings with Belarus after security incidents
Lithuania has reopened two border crossing points with Belarus – Šalčininkai and Medininkai – permitting the resumption of road traffic between the two nations.
The National Road Transport Agency (ANTA) has informed carriers from the Republic of Moldova that the Lithuanian government decided the checkpoints will become fully operational again starting Thursday, November 20, 2025, at 00:00 local time.
These points were previously closed for national security reasons following multiple incidents involving suspicious aerial devices, primarily balloons, launched from Belarus.
Lithuanian authorities stated in late October that these devices—variously described as sounding or weather balloons—are claimed to be used by organised contraband networks to transport cigarettes into European Union member states.
Since the beginning of the year, over 500 such unauthorised devices have illegally entered Lithuanian airspace, a critical issue also flagged by neighboring Latvia and Poland. This raised serious concerns for air traffic control.
The security threat escalated when several balloons reached the vicinity of Vilnius Airport. This forced the temporary closure of the airspace, creating significant disruption.
The airport was suspended at least five times in October alone, including on the evenings of October 24 and 25. On the night of October 25, Kaunas Airport was also temporarily shut down, which collectively impacted approximately 95 flights and around 14,000 passengers.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
