The “hybrid attack” by Belarus aimed at Lithuania was denounced by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen late yesterday (27.10.2025) in the evening Greek time.
OR Ursula von der Leyen said Europe stands in full solidarity with Lithuania against the continued incursions of cigarette and helium balloons into its airspace, which led to the temporary closure of Vilnius and Kaunas airports on Monday.
“This is destabilization, it is a challenge. We call it by its name: hybrid threat. We will not tolerate it,” wrote the head of the Commission on X (formerly Twitter).
Europe stands in full solidarity with Lithuania in the face of the persistent incursions of helium smuggling balloons into its airspace.
This is destabilisation.
This is provocation.We call it by its name: a hybrid threat.
We will not tolerate it.This is yet another reason…
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) October 27, 2025
The Prime Minister of Lithuania, Inga Ruginiene said her country would begin shooting down smugglers’ balloons crossing the border from Belarus, which have repeatedly caused air traffic problems in that Baltic country.
Lithuania has indefinitely closed its border crossings with Belarus after balloons violated its airspace for the third night in a row. Meanwhile Vilnius International Airport was forced to temporarily suspend operations for hours due to at least one balloon flying in its… pic.twitter.com/lx8nVYGvYT
— TVP World (@TVPWorld_com) October 27, 2025
He added that he sees Minsk’s inaction in not stopping the launch of the balloons as a sign of the authorities’ involvement.