BALLOONS stuffed with thousands of cigarettes have flown across an airport and shut it after being launched by a pal of Vladimir Putin.

Vilnius Airport in Lithuania was shut down on Sunday night when 25 meteorological balloons were detected entering the country by the National Crisis Management Centre.

Two of the balloons - entering from neighbouring nation Belarus - ended up flying directly over the airport.

The origin of the balloons has sparked suspicion of Russian involvement, as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is a close ally of Vladimir Putin.

Lukashenko has ruled Belarus with an iron hand for more than 30 years - and has relied on Russian subsidies and support - allowed Russia to use his country's territory to send troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

The helium-fi

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