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Lithuania to reopen border crossings with Russia-allied Belarus after tensions over balloons

On Wednesday, the Lithuanian government decided to reopen the two border crossings earlier than the Nov. 30 deadline, with the Cabinet resuming operations Thursday at Medininkai and Šalčininkai.
The crossings were closed at the end of October because helium/weather balloons from Belarus repeatedly entered Lithuanian airspace, disrupted airports, and were viewed as part of a hybrid operation.
A coordinated law-enforcement operation on Monday involved more than 100 officers from VSAT, police, customs and the Financial Crime Investigation Service, conducting over 30 searches and detaining five people.
Minsk retaliated by banning Lithuanian trucks, with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko saying up to 1,200 vehicles were stranded and reopening expected to ease their return from designated parking lots.
With EU condemnation and NATO support, Kondratovicius recently established a joint investigative team including VSAT, police, customs and financial crime investigators as smuggler balloon numbers fell this past week, and customs delegations held technical negotiations Tuesday.

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Lithuania accuses Belarus of 'blackmail' over stranded trucks

Lithuania has reopened its border with Belarus but thousands of trucks are still stuck on the other side, the foreign ministry in Vilnius said, accusing Minsk of "blackmail" over millions of euros in stranded goods.

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