Border protection theme
It could always have been worse, as if the Russians had gotten hold of the American human traffickers' vessel technology.
Vilnius airport closed – smuggling balloons from Belarus at the border. Operations at Vilnius airport had to be halted on Tuesday evening after weather balloons from Belarus disrupted the country's airspace, according to Lithuania's national crisis management center.
Since the beginning of October last year, the airport in Lithuania's capital has had to shut down operations more than ten times due to similar incidents, Reuters reports. The balloons are used to smuggle cigarettes. They can fly at altitudes of up to 8,000 meters and carry cigarette packages weighing around 40 kilograms each.
Previously, EU countries bordering Belarus – Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland – have requested help from the EU and NATO regarding what they describe as hybrid warfare from Belarus. The allegations have also involved, among other things, arbitrary arrests, refugees trying to cross the EU border from Belarus, and other types of smuggling. See the article on SVT News.
Russian drones have changed everything on the front in Ukraine: 'They see us all the time'
The front in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is not a clear line lined with trenches. Since drones have become dominant in the war, the front has instead turned into a several-mile-wide area where anything that moves is targeted.
SVT's Ukraine team entered the so-called death zone. The command center they visited is located outside Pokrovsk in Donbas, the region that Russia demands full control over. The Russian offensive against Pokrovsk has now been ongoing for a year and a half, with massive losses. Watch the report on SVT News.