As Russia announced that it would only allow Ukrainian citizens entry by land through this border point, the Latvian government decided to close it and also the Pededze border point as of Monday, October 16 for security reasons.
Colonel Mareks Ļahnovičs of the Viļaka Regional Board of the State Border Guard said 92 pedestrians and 18 cars, including one bus, were waiting in line to cross the border on Latvia's side on Sunday evening.
“An additional queue doesn't form, it's a constant from Saturday. There are border crossers who listen to us and understand that the border checkpoint will be closed and they will not be able to cross, so they turn around and drive to the border checkpoint in Terehova or Greņneva,” said Ļahnovičs.
Russian border guards allowed 4 cars and 15 pedestrians into the country overnight on Sunday. The permeability from Russia is considered very low, the Border Guard spokesperson said.
Only two cars and 5 pedestrians were allowed in on Sunday, and the last one was around 13:30.
The Balvi municipality provided two buses at the border and a tent to shelter from rain and cold.
