Overview
- Lithuanian authorities say the launches have intensified, with the biggest swarms last weekend and the first reported incursion into Latvia this week, prompting nine temporary closures at Vilnius Airport since October.
- The balloons carry cigarette consignments with GPS trackers and often reach about 8,000 meters (roughly 26,000 feet), leaving only about a quarter of at least 550 tracked over the past year able to be safely shot down.
- Officials characterize the effort as a hybrid attack meant to test response times and map gaps in NATO air defenses on the eastern flank.
- Lithuania has authorized shoot‑downs when safe, tightened border measures, sought a NATO Hybrid Support Team, and is preparing tougher sanctions on Belarus.
- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko denies state involvement, while some reports also cite launches from Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave.