Unlike Lithuania, the Latvian government refuses to close the border with Belarus 0 22

As previously reported, due to an increase in the number of smuggled balloons launched from Belarusian territory, which disrupted operations at Vilnius Airport last week, the Lithuanian government decided on Wednesday to close the border with Belarus until November 30, establishing exceptions for certain categories of travelers.

According to the government's decision, the last two border crossing points on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border will be closed for a month. Both of these points were closed on Sunday evening when a large number of smuggled balloons again flew into Lithuania from Belarus.

At the Šalčininkai crossing point, border crossing will be completely halted, while in Medininkai, movement will be restricted — only certain categories of travelers will be allowed to pass.

Numerous exceptions will be made for diplomats, individuals transporting Lithuanian diplomatic mail, travelers transiting to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and back, citizens of Lithuania and the European Union and their families, as well as individuals holding Lithuanian residence permits and humanitarian visas.

Traffic at Vilnius Airport was suspended four times last week due to the smuggled balloons, and five times in total in October. In Kaunas Airport, takeoffs and landings were also temporarily halted on the night from Friday to Saturday.