Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene has said Lithuania will start to shoot down smuggler balloons crossing from Belarus and also shut its border crossings with the neighbouring country following repeated interruptions to its air traffic.

“Today we have decided to take the strictest measures, there is no other way,” Ruginiene told a news conference on Monday, saying the crossings will be closed except for travel by diplomats and by European Union citizens leaving Belarus.

NATO and European Union member Lithuania closed Vilnius Airport four times last week after balloons entered its airspace. Each time, it temporarily shut its Belarus border crossings in response to the incidents.

Calling the incidents “hybrid attacks”, Ruginiene said her cabinet will meet on Wednesday to decide whether to pr

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