Lukashenko threatens to take 1,000 trucks at border

• Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has threatened to confiscate over 1,000 Lithuanian lorries currently stranded within his country.
• This warning follows Lithuania's closure of two border crossings with Belarus on 29 October, citing repeated incursions by weather balloons carrying smuggled cigarettes that disrupted air traffic.
• Lithuanian officials interpret these disruptions as part of broader anti-Western activities orchestrated by Russia-allied Belarus to undermine regional stability.
• Lukashenko denounced Lithuania's border closure as a 'mad scam' and a 'hybrid war', demanding the full reopening of the border to prevent the seizure of the vehicles.
• The tensions occur amidst heightened European alert over drone intrusions into NATO airspace, with Lukashenko indicating he would discuss the border issue with Washington.

IN FULL

Tension mounts in Belarus as leader plans to seize 1,000 trucks at closed border