Explainer 498: Belarus’s balloon offensive – Monocle


Skip to main content

Currently being edited in London

Daily inbox intelligence from Monocle

Home Radio Shows The Foreign Desk Explainer 498: Belarus’s balloon offensive

Affairs

17 Dec 2025

7 min

Play

State Border Guard Service/AP via Alamy

The Foreign Desk

Affairs

7 min

Lithuania has been beleaguered by balloons drifting into its airspace from neighbouring Belarus. What are the military advantages of this seemingly whimsical mode of transportation? And how severe is the threat? Andrew Mueller explains. 


Could Taiwan draw the US, China and Japan into war?

Japan prime minister Sanae Takaichi’s assertion that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be a threat to her nation’s survival has spurred a crisis between Tokyo and Beijing. Can de-escalation be achieved?


Explainer 497: The art of (stopping) the coup 

Benin has become the latest West African state to face a coup. Andrew Mueller explains how the region’s history of upheavals gave president Patrice Talon the tools to stop the attempt.


One year on from the toppling of the Assad regime, how far has Syria’s revolution come?

One year on from the spectacular toppling of the Assad regime, has the Syrian revolution achieved its aims? How well is President al-Sharaa governing and remaking his image? Will global intervention help or hurt the state?

You currently have no items in your cart.

Current quantity:

+

+

Subtotal:

Discount:

Shipping:

Total:


Checkout

Shipping will be calculated at checkout.

For orders shipping to the United States, please refer to our FAQs for information on import duties and regulations

All orders placed outside of the EU that exceed €1,000 in value require customs documentation. Please allow up to two additional business days for these orders to be dispatched.

Order by 15 December with Express or Priority delivery to ensure arrival before Christmas. Due to Christmas closures, orders placed after 22 December might not be dispatched until 29 December.

Not ready to checkout? Continue Shopping