On January 20, 2026, Lithuania’s presidential chief adviser on national security, Deividas Matulionis, stated that the situation involving contraband balloons launched from Belarus has significantly improved but cautioned that it is too early to declare the crisis over. The balloons disrupted operations multiple times at Vilnius and Kaunas Airports in the second half of last year. The improvements may be attributed to increased law enforcement activity, weather conditions, and diplomatic talks between US envoy John Coale and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, with a promise from Lukashenko in December 2025 to halt balloon inflows. For 45 days prior to the statement, no problems had been reported from these balloons to Lithuanian authorities.
Category: Military & Paramilitary Operations
Subcategory: Unconventional / Paramilitary
Incident Type: Use of ‘little green men’ (unmarked soldiers)
Country: Lithuania
Source report: www.lrt.lt/en/news-i…
