The Chief Of The Latvian Armed Forces Provided Details About The Provocation On The Border With Belarus

Aggressive actions followed from the Belarusian side.

Organized groups regularly participate in smuggling migrants from Belarus. This was stated by the commander of the National Armed Forces (NAF), Kaspars Pudans. He also provided details about the incident on October 6, when a group of 20 people, accompanied by unidentified masked individuals, attempted to break through into Latvia, according to the Latvian website Delfi.

According to Poudans, smuggling people across the Latvian border is a commonly used tactic, and migrants are usually accompanied by organized groups who help them reach and cross the border.

On October 6, as Pudans explained, Latvian military personnel arrived after several people had already crossed the border and scaled the fence. They began detaining the violators, at which point aggressive actions ensued from the Belarusian side.

“They began making threats and throwing stones, pieces of trees, and logs at our soldiers; there was also an object resembling a weapon that was aimed at the soldiers,” Pudans said.

The commander of the National Armed Forces noted that due to poor visibility and the distance involved, it is impossible to fully confirm that it was indeed a weapon. However, the soldiers acted based on what they saw and their assessment of the situation.

As a reminder, On October 6, the Latvian National Armed Forces reported that this week “a group of at least 20 illegal migrants, accompanied by masked individuals, attempted to illegally cross the Latvian state border.” The Latvian military thwarted this attempt, but the accompanying individuals were armed, threatened the soldiers, and actively pushed and directed the group of migrants toward Latvia.

A few hours after this incident, masked individuals entered Latvia, damaged an electrical distribution cabinet, and stole cameras, after which they returned to Belarusian territory.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga stated that “Moscow is behind” these incidents.

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