On the continuous Belarusian hybrid attacks against Lithuania

B100587/2025

European Parliament resolution on the continuous Belarusian hybrid attacks against Lithuania

(2025/3025(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Ukraine and Russia,

– having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2025/2041 of 23 October 2025 amending Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus and the involvement of Belarus in the Russian aggression against Ukraine,

– having regard to its resolution of 9 October 2025 on a united response to recent Russian violations of the EU Member States’ airspace and critical infrastructure,

– having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas Lithuania has consistently demonstrated strong, sustained, vocal and multidimensional support for Ukraine, providing substantial military assistance, humanitarian relief and long-term reconstruction aid;

B. whereas the EU’s eastern flank constitutes a strategic area for Europe’s overall security and therefore requires strengthened infrastructure, enhanced surveillance capabilities and effective rapid reinforcement mechanisms;

C. whereas the Preserving Peace – Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030 highlights the European Drone Defence Initiative and the Eastern Flank Watch as the initiatives to be launched first;

D. whereas continuous and sustained support for Ukraine remains a fundamental pillar of the EU’s security posture;

E. whereas Belarus has repeatedly launched unmanned flying objects into EU airspace in a manner that has disrupted civil aviation, endangered public safety and caused the closure of Lithuanian airports and border crossings;

F. whereas Lithuanian authorities reported that they have detected more than 600 balloons in Lithuania’s airspace during 2025, which led to 16 airport closures, affecting more than 300 flights and more than 47 000 passengers, and caused more than EUR 750 000 in losses to Lithuanian airports and aviation companies;

G. whereas Lithuania responded by authorising the shooting down of such unmanned flying objects, as well as temporarily closing its border with Belarus and declaring a nationwide state of emergency;

H. whereas Belarus has engaged in economic coercion by hijacking European road freight vehicles, demanding ransom, threatening confiscation and obstructing legitimate border crossings;

I. whereas the EU has imposed sanctions on Belarus and has expressed the political will to adopt further measures in response to Belarus’s escalating hybrid attacks against the EU;

J. whereas the leadership of the Commission and the Council have publicly condemned these actions and reaffirmed solidarity with Lithuania;

1. Expresses its full solidarity with Lithuania and all other Member States affected by Belarusian acts of hybrid warfare and coercion; underscores that any attack, intimidation or violation against a Member State constitutes a threat to the EU as a whole and requires a decisive, proportionate, unified and resolute EU response, particularly in the light of Belarus’s alignment with and support for Russia’s illegal and unprovoked military aggression;

2. Condemns, in the strongest terms, Belarus’s repeated, intensified and ever more frequent acts of hybrid warfare against Lithuania, and therefore against the EU, including the repeated incursions of weather balloons into EU airspace, and its acts of economic coercion and military provocation; stresses that these actions are not isolated incidents but form part of a clear pattern of escalating, intentional, hostile and aggressive behaviour, which carries a serious risk of miscalculation and endangers lives, thereby posing a significant threat to EU citizens and to peace and security in Europe;

3. Condemns, furthermore, the retaliatory measures taken by the Lukashenka regime against Lithuania, including the hijacking of Lithuanian-bound freight vehicles and their threatened confiscation, which constitute a deliberate act of coercion aimed at destabilising legitimate cross-border trade and exerting pressure on an EU Member State; stresses that these actions are also part of a broader set of acts of hybrid warfare by Belarus, which includes the instrumentalisation of migration, disinformation campaigns and economic intimidation, all of which seek to undermine regional stability, the functioning of the EU’s external border and the EU’s stance of isolating Belarus in international forums;

4. Urges Belarus to immediately cease all acts of hostility against Lithuania, including airspace intrusions using balloons and unmanned aerial vehicles, actions targeting critical infrastructure, acts of economic coercion, and organised criminal and intelligence recruitment operations; urges Belarus, furthermore, to immediately and unconditionally release all Lithuanian and other EU freight vehicles, their drivers and their cargo, which have been unlawfully detained on Belarusian territory, and to provide compensation for financial damages resulting from these unlawful actions;

5. Underlines that the protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all Member States is a fundamental principle of the EU; fully supports Lithuania’s right to take decisive and proportionate measures to combat any actions that seek to undermine international law, security, civil aviation safety, or public order, including the interception or neutralisation of unmanned flying objects originating in Belarus; stresses that such measures are legitimate in defence of the EU’s fundamental values, regional stability and the rules-based international order;

6. Calls for a coordinated and robust EU response to deter any further provocation and economic intimidation by the Lukashenka regime; calls on the Commission, the Council and the Member States to respond with reinforced restrictive protective measures, enhanced resilience and coordinated EU-level action to deter further provocation;

7. Underlines that multilayered defence is essential for protecting citizens and critical infrastructure, but also for deterring threats and, ultimately, for safeguarding the EU’s role as a global actor upholding peace, human rights and the rule of law; welcomes the European Drone Defence Initiative as one of the flagship projects under the EU’s Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030, recognising its importance in strengthening the EU’s collective capacity to detect, track and counter hostile unmanned aerial systems; stresses that this initiative represents a critical step towards establishing a coordinated, interoperable and multilayered counter-drone architecture across the Member States; underlines that its swift implementation will significantly enhance the protection of EU citizens, borders and critical infrastructure against evolving aerial threats;

8. Welcomes the proposed approach for the Eastern Flank Watch, aimed at integrating air-defence and counter-drone capabilities with ground-based defence systems and enhanced maritime security in the Baltic and Black Sea regions; supports the objective of establishing a comprehensive border defence capability that contributes to the security of the entire EU; calls for the inclusion of measures to bolster resilience, reinforce infrastructure protection capacities and cyber defence capacities, and ensure regional interoperability and full operational readiness in times of crisis;

9. Stresses the urgent need to protect and improve the resilience of critical infrastructure, including the protection of interconnected infrastructure networks which face growing threats from acts of hybrid warfare; underlines that ensuring military mobility across the EU is an essential component of this resilience, as secure, modern and interoperable transport and logistics infrastructure enables rapid reinforcement, crisis response and deterrence along the eastern flank; welcomes the proposal to increase the budget for military mobility in the forthcoming multiannual financial framework and underlines that a strengthened and well-targeted Connecting Europe Facility is essential for enhancing the EU’s competitiveness, resilience and strategic autonomy;

10. Draws attention to the fact that the latest acts of hybrid warfare by Belarus are part of a systematic pattern of hybrid actions by Russia and the Lukashenka regime in Belarus and must be seen as attempts to weaken the resolve of the EU and its Member States to continue supporting Ukraine in Russia’s brutal and relentless war of aggression against Ukraine that is in utter violation of the most fundamental principles of international law and the UN Charter;

11. Reiterates, therefore, its unwavering commitment to continuing its support for Ukraine’s legitimate defence against Russian aggression, and its support for genuine international efforts to end Russia’s illegal war of aggression, ensuring a just and lasting peace for Ukraine and long-term security for Europe as well as respect for the principles of international law;

12. Welcomes the adoption of Council Regulation (EU) 2025/2041, which updates and strengthens the existing EU sanctions regime against Belarus; calls on the Council to consider additional sectoral restrictive measures and welcomes the Council’s decision to introduce a new criterion for the listing of individuals, entities and bodies benefiting from, involved in or facilitating actions or policies attributable to Belarus which undermine or threaten democracy, the rule of law, stability or security in the EU and its Member States; welcomes, also, the fact that the new criterion also covers actions aimed at interfering with, damaging or destroying critical infrastructure, as well as widespread or systematic actions resulting in the disruption of such infrastructure;

13. Takes note of Lithuania’s decision to declare a state of emergency in response to the growing threat posed by weather balloons regularly launched from Belarus into Lithuanian territory; recognises that this emergency is being declared not only because of disruptions to civil aviation but also because of national security concerns and the need for closer coordination among institutions;

14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the authorities of the Belarusian regime.