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Lithuanian army receives orders on how to shoot down weather balloons with contraband

President Gitanas Nauseda said the army is ready, and the relevant instructions have been given

VILNIUS, October 28. /TASS/. The Lithuanian military has received instructions on how to shoot down meteorological probes with tobacco contraband entering Lithuanian airspace, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said.

"We have such means (military - TASS) too," he said. The head of state acknowledged that "there are certain restrictions" on the use of weapons in peacetime. "However, the army is ready for this, the relevant instructions have been given," Nauseda told reporters.

Earlier, he and Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said that the republic intended to use "kinetic means" against the air objects violating the border, but declined to elaborate.

Lithuania had previously again closed two checkpoints on the border with Belarus. Ruginiene told reporters that the country has prepared a plan for a complete closure of the border with Belarus, which they intend to adopt on October 29. According to her, incidents involving the penetration of tobacco-smuggling weather balloons into Lithuania and the unwillingness of the Belarus to curb these actions force Lithuania to close the border fully. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko called the decision "petty."

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