At the same time, head of the State Border Guard (VR), Guntis Pujāts, said his service had received "risk information" that the number of violations is set to increase. For example, on Wednesday, the border guard detected 20 attempts by migrants to cross the border illegally.
Pujāts said that while no increased movement of migrants has been observed on the Latvian-Russian border either, the border guard sporadically detects citizens of Russia or Belarus who, according to their appearance and actions, do not appear to be ordinary civilians.
VRS Chief General Guntis Pujāts spoke more broadly about the situation at the border in a discussion organized by the defense industry on Thursday, February 29, saying:
"They are trying to enter Latvia illegally. We have detained them. They mostly lie [about their goals to get to Latvia], tell tales. Their speech is mutually contradictory. They do not reveal that, for example, they would come here to burn or blow up something, but their profile shows at least prior membership of the special services. They have been expelled from Latvia."
The head of the Border Guard also said that attempts to disrupt the IT systems of the Border Guard have also been detected on the country's eastern border. There have also been attempts to take over the control of drones, which have not been successful.
We can feel safe in Latvia, but we must understand that we are living in the conditions of a hybrid war, stated the Minister of the Interior Rihards Kozlovskis (New Unity). The minister said Russia will look for ways to damage Latvia's national security. However, our security services are prepared for various situations and are able to act responsibly and quickly, he insisted.
