EU Tightens Sanctions on Belarus Amid Weather Balloon Smuggling Incidents

The European Union has tightened sanctions against Belarus amid “incidents” involving weather balloons used to smuggle contraband, diverging from the position of the United States, which eased sanctions after the release of some political prisoners.

Bloomberg reported this.

The EU’s decision follows a series of incidents in which contraband-carrying meteorological balloons repeatedly entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus.

The weather balloons were first detected in late October 2025. In early November, Lithuanian border guards and police intercepted eight balloons launched from Belarusian territory.

Altogether, the balloons were carrying more than 13,000 packs of smuggled cigarettes. Each balloon was equipped with a GPS transmitter to track the cargo.

In early December, the Lithuanian government declared a nationwide state of emergency due to weather balloons carrying contraband. The decree states that the measures introduced will be directed exclusively at the organizers and perpetrators of the illegal activity and will not create additional inconvenience for the general public.

The Ministry of the Interior explained that the launch of weather balloons carrying contraband is an element of hybrid warfare that poses a threat to national security. The balloons interfere with civil aviation operations and have repeatedly forced the suspension of activities at Vilnius Airport, causing financial losses and reputational damage.

The state of emergency will allow authorities to coordinate their actions more closely and to deploy military units. The government will review the need for the state of emergency after one month.

Meanwhile, Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus’ self-proclaimed president, has refused to take responsibility for the balloon incidents, which allegedly transported contraband across the Belarusian–Lithuanian border.

According to him, the United States demanded that Belarus issue a public apology to Lithuania. Lukashenko claims that Washington accused the Belarusian side of launching balloons carrying contraband from its territory. In response, he refused to apologize, making a profane remark directed at the United States.

The United States announced that it would lift restrictions on the export of potash fertilizers from Belarus following a visit by a U.S. envoy to Minsk, after which self-proclaimed President Alexander Lukashenko released 123 political prisoners.

“If the Belarusian regime does not change its behavior, we may move at different speeds with the United States and even in different directions,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys stated.

Potash fertilizers are one of Belarus’s key export commodities and its only significant mineral resource. After the United States imposed sanctions in 2021, Belarus rerouted its sales through Russia, increasing Lukashenko’s economic dependence on the Kremlin.