According to the BBC, of the 25 meteorological balloons that entered Lithuanian airspace, the National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC) has already recovered 11.
Darius Buta, a spokesperson for the NCMC, said the balloons are a much cheaper airborne smuggling vessel than drones, costing just a few dollars when bought online.
“Balloons with contraband cargo - cigarettes from Belarus - are nothing new in Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland,” he said.
“Our services’ aim is to seize the largest possible quantities of contraband and to detain organisers and perpetrators so that this activity is unprofitable and does not pose a risk to civil aviation.”
In 2025 alone, 544 balloons have entered the country from neighbouring Belarus, which shares a nearly 679km long border with Lithuania.
Hot air balloon pilot Giedrius Leškevičius told LRT TV the balloons could have crossed the border in under an hour if the winds were strong enough.
While they are not steerable, he suspects Belarusian smugglers may track the balloons with geotags.
The eastern European nation is closely allied with Russia, signing a mutual defence pact with Vladimir Putin earlier this year.
In 2022, President Alexander Lukashenko allowed the Russian leader to use Belarusian soil as an entry point for invading Ukraine.
These ties have fuelled security concerns as Russia is eyed as the culprit behind several NATO airspace violations, one as recently as last week.
The runways of Munich Airport were shut down on October 3 after several unidentified drones were seen around the airfield.
An estimated 3000 travellers slept at the airport overnight as 17 departing flights were cancelled and a further 15 arrivals diverted.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany believes the “attempts at espionage” is likely to be associated with Russia.
