Latvia: High alert on eastern border to be reinstated ASAP: official

The number of border violations on Latvia’s eastern border with Belarus is increasing amid warmer weather, State Border Guard (VRS) chief Guntis Pujats announced, LSM reports. He noted that the situation on the border remained calm in January and early February 2024, but that the number of attempts to cross the border illegally had picked up in March 2024. Border violations had increased in Lithuania and Poland as well, Pujats added. He said that Belarusian officials were involved in damaging Latvia’s border infrastructure, LETA reported. Also, there had been attempts to disrupt IT systems and take over surveillance drones on the eastern border. Some of those trying to enter Latvia illegally may be Belarusian and Russian agents, Pujats warned. An Interior Ministry official said that a reinforced border protection regime would be reinstated as soon as possible, LSM reported.