Name: Lithuania reopens border crossings with Belarus after tensions
Uploaded: 2025-11-19T20:45:51.721Z
Duration: 1 min 8 s
Description: Vilnius decided to reopen the crossings at Medininkai and Šalčininkai on Thursday, but moved the decision forward by a day.

Vilnius decided to reopen the crossings at Medininkai and Šalčininkai on Thursday, but moved the decision forward by a day.

Medininkai

Lithuania has reopened its two border crossings with Belarus, weeks after they were closed due to disruptions at Vilnius airport caused by balloons used for cigarette smuggling. The closure, which lasted one month with some exemptions, was implemented after Lithuanian officials viewed the incident as a deliberate provocation by Belarus.

The reopening is expected to facilitate the return of hundreds of Lithuanian trucks that had been trapped in Belarus, as Minsk had refused to allow their passage during the closure. Lithuanian authorities have stated that the crossings could be closed again if similar airspace violations, such as the use of balloons or drones, recur.

Lithuania reopens border crossings with Belarus after tensions

The Lithuanian government announced that it's reopening the country's two border crossings with Belarus on Wednesday. It comes weeks after they were closed following disruptions at the capital's airport caused by balloons used to smuggle cigarettes across the border. Vilnius said late last month that it would keep the borders closed for one month, with some exemptions. Officials in Lithuania viewed the balloon violation as a deliberate act by Belarus, a close ally of Russia. The decision is expected to ease the return of hundreds of Lithuanian trucks, which have been trapped in Belarus since the closure came into force. Minsk refused to open a corridor to allow the Lithuanian trucks' passage back home, and opted to hold them as a means of pressuring Lithuania into reopening the crossings. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko slammed Vilnius' decision to close the border crossings as a mad scam, as he accused Lithuania of engaging in a, quote, hybrid war against his country. Lithuania warned that the crossings could be shut again if balloons and drones reappear in its airspace.

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