Latvia has completed a 280-kilometre fence along its eastern frontier with Russia, the country’s real estate administration said on Tuesday.
Topped with barbed wire and a patrolling path, the fence spans the entire length of the Latvia-Russia border.
The fortification of Latvia’s land borders with Russia and Belarus began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and a rise in migrants entering Latvia illegally from Belarus. For years, Latvian government officials have accused their eastern neighbours of hybrid warfare by facilitating migrant smuggling.
Together with the completed fence along the border with Belarus, the new 280-kilometre structure represents a “significant contribution to the security of the Latvian population and our country,” Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovski said in a press release.
Screenshot of a promotional video by the Latvian real estate administration
The minister said further border upgrades are planned. “Our ultimate goal is to create the most modern border protection on the eastern border of the EU,” he said.
Last year, the European Commission funded the Latvian efforts to improve its surveillance of the Russian and Belarusian borders with €17 million, citing a significant increase of irregular migrants.
In 2021, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia expressed concern that the growing numbers of migrants trying to cross their frontiers into the European Union could escalate into a military confrontation.
(vib)