\n<\/p>\n
Entry to Lithuania still allowed for certain travellers, including EU citizens and humanitarian visa-holders.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\nPublished On 29 Oct 2025<\/span>29 Oct 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\nClick here to share on social media<\/p>\nshare2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Lithuania is tightening its border with Belarus for a month after waves of balloons carrying contraband cigarettes entered its airspace.<\/p>\n<p>Lithuania\u2019s cabinet decided Wednesday to continue halting traffic at the Salcininkai crossing in the southeast until the end of November, while heavily restricting passage at its only other crossing, Medininkai, near the capital Vilnius, according to the BNS news agency.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic said the measures would \u201csend a clear message to our not-so-friendly neighbour\u201d over the balloon incursions, which disrupted air traffic at Vilnius airport over the weekend and prompted it to first close the two crossings.<\/p>\n<p>Diplomats, Lithuanian citizens, nationals of the European Union and NATO member states and their family members, as well as foreigners with valid Lithuanian permits, will still be allowed to enter Lithuania through Medininkai, BNS reported. The exemption also applies to holders of humanitarian visas.<\/p>\n<p>Passenger trains between Belarus and Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave wedged between Poland and Lithuania, will not be affected. Russians holding a transit document allowing travel to Kaliningrad can also still cross at Medininkai, according to Lithuanian officials.<\/p>\n<p>Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said the restrictions could be extended. \u201cWe cannot fail to respond to a hybrid attack against Lithuania,\u201d she told reporters.<\/p>\n<p>The measure will primarily affect thousands of Belarusian workers who regularly travel between the two countries, but Lithuanian businesses that continue to work with Minsk will also be impacted, Ruginiene said.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"mad-scam\">\u2018Mad scam\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Belarus condemned Lithuania\u2019s initial border closure after last week\u2019s balloon incident and called on its neighbour to first look for accomplices within its own borders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLithuanian politicians have decided to exploit the situation and place all the blame on Belarus, thus covering up their own inability (or unwillingness?) to find the smugglers\u2019 contractors\u201d inside Lithuania, said a statement by the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf air balloons loaded with cigarettes are flying there, I guess they need to solve the issue on their end,\u201d added Belarus\u2019s President Alexander Lukashenko, noting that his country would apologise if its involvement is established.<\/p>\n<p>Lithuania, a NATO and EU member on the Western alliance\u2019s eastern flank, views the balloon disruption as a deliberate act of sabotage by Russia-allied Belarus.<\/p>\n<p>Its concern is heightened by repeated drone intrusions into NATO\u2019s airspace, which reached an unprecedented scale last month. Some European officials described the incidents as Moscow testing NATO\u2019s response, which raised questions about how prepared the alliance is against Russia.<\/p>\n<p>In Belgium, Defence Minister Theo Francken said an investigation was under way after \u201cmultiple drones were spotted again\u201d overnight Tuesday into Wednesday above a military base in Marche-en-Famenne in the east of the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Entry to Lithuania still allowed for certain travellers, including EU citizens and humanitarian visa-holders. Published On 29 Oct 202529 Oct 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Lithuania is tightening its border with Belarus for a month after waves of balloons carrying contraband cigarettes entered its airspace. Lithuania\u2019s cabinet decided Wednesday to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Published On 29 Oct 2025<\/span>29 Oct 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\nClick here to share on social media<\/p>\nshare2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Lithuania is tightening its border with Belarus for a month after waves of balloons carrying contraband cigarettes entered its airspace.<\/p>\n<p>Lithuania\u2019s cabinet decided Wednesday to continue halting traffic at the Salcininkai crossing in the southeast until the end of November, while heavily restricting passage at its only other crossing, Medininkai, near the capital Vilnius, according to the BNS news agency.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic said the measures would \u201csend a clear message to our not-so-friendly neighbour\u201d over the balloon incursions, which disrupted air traffic at Vilnius airport over the weekend and prompted it to first close the two crossings.<\/p>\n<p>Diplomats, Lithuanian citizens, nationals of the European Union and NATO member states and their family members, as well as foreigners with valid Lithuanian permits, will still be allowed to enter Lithuania through Medininkai, BNS reported. The exemption also applies to holders of humanitarian visas.<\/p>\n<p>Passenger trains between Belarus and Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave wedged between Poland and Lithuania, will not be affected. Russians holding a transit document allowing travel to Kaliningrad can also still cross at Medininkai, according to Lithuanian officials.<\/p>\n<p>Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said the restrictions could be extended. \u201cWe cannot fail to respond to a hybrid attack against Lithuania,\u201d she told reporters.<\/p>\n<p>The measure will primarily affect thousands of Belarusian workers who regularly travel between the two countries, but Lithuanian businesses that continue to work with Minsk will also be impacted, Ruginiene said.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"mad-scam\">\u2018Mad scam\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Belarus condemned Lithuania\u2019s initial border closure after last week\u2019s balloon incident and called on its neighbour to first look for accomplices within its own borders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLithuanian politicians have decided to exploit the situation and place all the blame on Belarus, thus covering up their own inability (or unwillingness?) to find the smugglers\u2019 contractors\u201d inside Lithuania, said a statement by the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf air balloons loaded with cigarettes are flying there, I guess they need to solve the issue on their end,\u201d added Belarus\u2019s President Alexander Lukashenko, noting that his country would apologise if its involvement is established.<\/p>\n<p>Lithuania, a NATO and EU member on the Western alliance\u2019s eastern flank, views the balloon disruption as a deliberate act of sabotage by Russia-allied Belarus.<\/p>\n<p>Its concern is heightened by repeated drone intrusions into NATO\u2019s airspace, which reached an unprecedented scale last month. Some European officials described the incidents as Moscow testing NATO\u2019s response, which raised questions about how prepared the alliance is against Russia.<\/p>\n<p>In Belgium, Defence Minister Theo Francken said an investigation was under way after \u201cmultiple drones were spotted again\u201d overnight Tuesday into Wednesday above a military base in Marche-en-Famenne in the east of the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Entry to Lithuania still allowed for certain travellers, including EU citizens and humanitarian visa-holders. Published On 29 Oct 202529 Oct 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Lithuania is tightening its border with Belarus for a month after waves of balloons carrying contraband cigarettes entered its airspace. Lithuania\u2019s cabinet decided Wednesday to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n
share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Lithuania is tightening its border with Belarus for a month after waves of balloons carrying contraband cigarettes entered its airspace.<\/p>\n<p>Lithuania\u2019s cabinet decided Wednesday to continue halting traffic at the Salcininkai crossing in the southeast until the end of November, while heavily restricting passage at its only other crossing, Medininkai, near the capital Vilnius, according to the BNS news agency.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic said the measures would \u201csend a clear message to our not-so-friendly neighbour\u201d over the balloon incursions, which disrupted air traffic at Vilnius airport over the weekend and prompted it to first close the two crossings.<\/p>\n<p>Diplomats, Lithuanian citizens, nationals of the European Union and NATO member states and their family members, as well as foreigners with valid Lithuanian permits, will still be allowed to enter Lithuania through Medininkai, BNS reported. The exemption also applies to holders of humanitarian visas.<\/p>\n<p>Passenger trains between Belarus and Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave wedged between Poland and Lithuania, will not be affected. Russians holding a transit document allowing travel to Kaliningrad can also still cross at Medininkai, according to Lithuanian officials.<\/p>\n<p>Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said the restrictions could be extended. \u201cWe cannot fail to respond to a hybrid attack against Lithuania,\u201d she told reporters.<\/p>\n<p>The measure will primarily affect thousands of Belarusian workers who regularly travel between the two countries, but Lithuanian businesses that continue to work with Minsk will also be impacted, Ruginiene said.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"mad-scam\">\u2018Mad scam\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Belarus condemned Lithuania\u2019s initial border closure after last week\u2019s balloon incident and called on its neighbour to first look for accomplices within its own borders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLithuanian politicians have decided to exploit the situation and place all the blame on Belarus, thus covering up their own inability (or unwillingness?) to find the smugglers\u2019 contractors\u201d inside Lithuania, said a statement by the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf air balloons loaded with cigarettes are flying there, I guess they need to solve the issue on their end,\u201d added Belarus\u2019s President Alexander Lukashenko, noting that his country would apologise if its involvement is established.<\/p>\n<p>Lithuania, a NATO and EU member on the Western alliance\u2019s eastern flank, views the balloon disruption as a deliberate act of sabotage by Russia-allied Belarus.<\/p>\n<p>Its concern is heightened by repeated drone intrusions into NATO\u2019s airspace, which reached an unprecedented scale last month. Some European officials described the incidents as Moscow testing NATO\u2019s response, which raised questions about how prepared the alliance is against Russia.<\/p>\n<p>In Belgium, Defence Minister Theo Francken said an investigation was under way after \u201cmultiple drones were spotted again\u201d overnight Tuesday into Wednesday above a military base in Marche-en-Famenne in the east of the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Entry to Lithuania still allowed for certain travellers, including EU citizens and humanitarian visa-holders. Published On 29 Oct 202529 Oct 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Lithuania is tightening its border with Belarus for a month after waves of balloons carrying contraband cigarettes entered its airspace. Lithuania\u2019s cabinet decided Wednesday to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}