European Parliament denounces escalating Belarusian hybrid attacks against Lithuania

On 18 December, the European Parliament condemned Belarus for conducting an escalating campaign of coordinated hybrid attacks against Lithuania and the EU.

The text, adopted by 438 votes in favour, 37 against with 48 abstentions, points to Belarus’s repeated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and balloon incursions into Lithuanian airspace, and cyberattacks, state-sponsored disinformation campaigns, economic coercion, and instrumentalised migration. These actions, members of the EUropean Parliament (MEPs) say, are deliberate, coordinated, hostile and part of a broader Russia-led strategy to undermine the EU, its member states and NATO.

The resolution highlights a sharp rise in Belarusian airspace violations since 2024, posing serious risks to civil aviation, public safety and the economy. MEPs see evidence that the unmanned devices were deployed in a controlled way and were, in one case, equipped with explosive material. Following Lithuania’s closure of its border with Belarus, the text condemns Belarus’s retaliatory detention of EU freight operators, and its long-standing use of migration as a political weapon.

MEPs demand that Belarus cease all hybrid activities against Lithuania, release detained European hauliers and their property, compensate financial losses caused, and ensure aviation and border-crossing safety.

MEPs also call on EU member states in the Council to impose additional targeted sanctions on Belarusian officials, state-owned and private entities, and individuals involved in UAV production and deployment, and all other hybrid operations targeting critical infrastructure, economic activities and democratic institutions.

Find out more

Press release