Unknown individuals from Belarus infiltrated Latvia and damaged border equipment

Unknown masked individuals infiltrated Latvia from Belarusian territory, damaged border surveillance equipment and stole two cameras. The incident occurred a few hours after an aggressive attempt to escort a group of migrants across the border accompanied by armed persons.

Latvian Minister of the Interior Jānis Dombrava reported that the intruders damaged an electrical distribution panel and took away surveillance cameras. They managed to return to Belarusian territory before the Latvian border patrol unit arrived.

According to the National Armed Forces of Latvia, beforehand at least 20 migrants had attempted to illegally cross the Latvian-Belarusian border. The people accompanying the group from the Belarusian side were armed, threatened Latvian military personnel and actively directed the migrants toward Latvia. The military stopped the attempt to cross the border.

Head of the State Border Guard of Latvia Guntis Pujāts confirmed the theft of two cameras. According to him, services are already restoring the damaged infrastructure. At the same time, he warned against drawing premature conclusions that the masked people were representatives of Belarusian state structures: they could have been members of organized criminal groups engaged in migrant smuggling.

Pujāts also reported an increase in the number of acts of sabotage against information-technological infrastructure on the border. At the same time, the border fence itself is currently damaged about half as often as a year ago.

The National Armed Forces of Latvia view such incidents as a continuation of hybrid pressure, in which illegal migration is used to create tension on the external border of Latvia, the EU and NATO.

Amid the situation, on October 6 the Latvian government extended operation "VILKATIS" for enhanced protection of the eastern border until the end of the year. The authorities plan, in particular, to expand the use of drones for surveillance. The government directly calls Belarus's use of migration pressure a hybrid threat.

Since the beginning of 2026, Latvian border guards have prevented 11,925 attempts to illegally cross the border from Belarus. On October 5 alone, 59 such attempts were stopped.

Based on: Jānis Dombrava, LSM, Government of Latvia