Serious border incident in Latvia involving armed men coming from Belarus

The dictatorships of Russia and Belarus continue their provocations against NATO countries, this time with a very serious incident.

The military obstacles Latvia is putting up to stop a Russian invasion
Military of Belarus, backed by Russia, monitor migration attack on Poland

This Tuesday, October 6, at 17:06 CET, the Latvian Armed Forces (NBS) issued a statement noting: "This week, the National Armed Forces once again encountered a deliberately organized attempt by irregular migrants to cross from Belarus into Latvia. On this occasion, a group of at least 20 irregular migrants attempted to illegally cross the Latvian state border, guided by escorts with their faces covered."

The dictatorship of Alexander Lukashenko—a Kremlin puppet regime—has been using illegal immigration as a weapon in a hybrid war against Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia since 2021, a few months before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This is a clear attempt to destabilize NATO member states; to this end, the Minsk regime charters flights to transport citizens from Middle Eastern countries to Belarus, subsequently abandoning them at the border. Belarusian military personnel have been observed orchestrating these illegal migrant incursions.

The Latvian Armed Forces have not specified whether the individuals accompanying these illegal migrants were wearing civilian or military attire. However, they did state the following: "Soldiers from the National Armed Forces intercepted the attempted crossing; however, unlike many previous incidents, this provocation was particularly brazen and aggressive. The individuals guiding the irregular migrants were armed, issued threats against the soldiers, and actively incited and pushed the group of migrants toward Latvia."

The Latvian Armed Forces added: "This incident confirms that deliberate provocations and hybrid threats will continue at the Latvia-Belarus border, with irregular migration being used as a tool to exert pressure on the Latvian border and, by extension, on the external borders of the European Union and NATO. The National Armed Forces will continue to support the State Border Guard Service at Latvia's borders with Belarus and Russia in order to jointly respond to the challenges posed by irregular migration, as well as to provocations and other hybrid threats."

Yesterday, at 17:20 CET, Latvian Interior Minister Jānis Dombrava added further details: "Several hours after this incident, masked individuals entered Latvian territory, damaged a distribution cabinet, and stole cameras; before a border guard patrol could arrive, the individuals returned to Belarusian territory. Belarus should understand that such incidents could lead to more serious consequences for Belarus itself."

This afternoon, at 19:33 CET, Jānis Dombrava announced: "Border guards and soldiers are already authorized to use firearms to stop saboteurs and other individuals entering the country illegally; however, I intend to propose legislative amendments to grant greater freedom of action to those defending our nation. Those guarding the state border—border guards, soldiers, and other officials—must be certain that they will not face criminal prosecution for the legitimate use of firearms and special means."

Currently, Latvia has its borders with Russia and Belarus under heightened surveillance and reinforcement, including the installation of anti-tank obstacles to counter a potential military invasion. These precautions are not the result of paranoia or unfounded fears. On May 13, the Russian State Duma passed a new law to justify Russian military aggression against other countries under the pretext of "strengthening the protection of Russian citizens abroad"—the same argument used by Russia to invade Georgia in 2014 and Ukraine in 2022.

In case there was any doubt about which countries the Kremlin has in its sights, on May 25 Russia announced that it would appeal to the UN International Court of Justice against Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, accusing these NATO member states of "Russophobia" and of "violations" of the rights of Russian-speaking citizens —the same false accusations leveled by Moscow against Georgia and Ukraine prior to the aforementioned invasions.

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Main photo: Valsts Robežsardze. Members of the Latvian State Border Guard patrolling the border between their country and Belarus.