Latvia sends army to guard border with Belarus after nearly 100 illegal crossing attempts in 24 hours

Latvia’s defence minister, on Tuesday (August 15), ordered the army to help guard the country’s border with Belarus, after a reported 96 attempts by illegal immigrants to enter the country in 24 hours. This also comes amid mounting tensions between the Russian ally and another European Union member nation, Poland, along their shared border.

Latvia also recalled Border Guard officers from their holidays on Tuesday to help with patrols. In a statement, the Latvian Border Guard said that it has information about a “possible increase in hybrid threats,” adding that Belarusian authorities were increasingly involved in organising the flow of illegal immigrants.

Notably, Vilnius’ statement echoes similar accusations made by Warsaw in recent weeks which has also accused Minsk and Moscow of organising another migrant influx at their border.

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This comes as EU member nations – Latvia, Lithuania and Poland – which share a border with Belarus, have been increasinglyworried about border crossings since hundreds of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group members were sent to Minsk at the invitation of President Alexander Lukashenko.

Poland’s accusations against Belarus

Poland has been ramping up security along its border with Belarus – a close ally of Russia – afterWagner sent its fightersto Minsk in exile following their chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s aborted mutiny in Russia.

Warsaw is planning to move up to 10,000 additional troops to the border with Belarus to support the Border Guard, said Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, on Thursday (August 10).

Earlier this month, Polish Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Wasik accused Belarus and Russia of organising another migrant influx at their border. “We’re talking about an operation organised by the Russian and Belarusian secret services that is getting more and more intense,” said Wasik.

Similar accusations were made against Minsk and Moscow starting in 2021 when tens of thousands of migrants and refugees crossed or attempted to cross into Poland from neighbouring Belarus. Latvia and Lithuania also faced an immigration crisisaround that time, when thousands of people sought to enter thethree EU countries.

Ukraine pours millions into fortifying border with Russia, Belarus

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, on Tuesday (August 16), also announced that the country will build new fortifications and military infrastructure in northeast regions that border Russia and Belarus.

This comes as Ukraine after its counteroffensivereportedly managed to regain some of its previously Russian-occupied territory and has maintained a significant force in the north.

The Ukrainian PM took to Telegram and said, “At the request of Kharkiv and Chernihiv...we are allocating 911.5 million hryvnias ($24.7 million) for Kharkiv and 363 million ($9.8 million) for Chernihiv to build military engineering and fortification structures.”

The Chernihiv region that borders Russia and Belarus was partially occupied at the beginning of Moscow’s all-out invasion of Kyiv, in February 2022, but it was reportedly later liberated.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on Ukraine-Russia war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

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