Lithuania will reopen its border crossings with Belarus, ending a closure imposed in response to airspace disruptions by smugglers' balloons, the Baltic republic said on Wednesday. The two border crossings are due to reopen on Thursday, the prime minister's spokesperson said.

Lithuania last month said they would remain closed until the end of November in response to incursions by weather balloons flying from Belarus that have disrupted air traffic and caused closures at Vilnius airport. Lithuania has said the balloons are flown by smugglers transporting contraband cigarettes and blames Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko for not stopping the practice, calling it a form of "hybrid attack".

Air traffic incident reports, however, have decreased in recent weeks. Vilnius airport was last

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