The Latvian defence ministry is sending troops to help guard the country’s border with Belarus, Reuters reported on Tuesday. This follows announcements from Poland and Lithuania about increasing measures to secure the Belarus border.
Latvia’s Border Guard said it had “information about a possible increase in hybrid threats”, according to Reuters, after reporting 96 attempts by irregular migrants to cross the border in one day. Alongside troops, border guards have been recalled from holidays.
The Polish government said last week it was sending additional 2,000 troops to reinforce the Belarus border. Lithuania’s Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė subsequently said Vilnius is also taking additional measures, without, however, specifying what they were.
Moreover, Lithuania is planning to close down two out of six checkpoints on the Belarus border, quoting security concerns.
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Belarus’ western neighbours have worried increasingly about the border area since hundreds of battle-hardened Wagner mercenaries arrived in the country last month at the invitation of Alexander Lukashenko.
In 2021, these countries – mostly Poland and, to a lesser extent, Lithuania – faced an immigration crisis when thousands of people, mostly from the Middle East and Africa, sought to cross from Belarus but were pushed back.
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