Three years of reporting, funded by our readers — become a member now and help us prepare for 2025.
Goal: 1,000 new members for our birthday. Gift a membership to your friend and help us prepare for what 2025 might bring.
Become a member Gift membership
Skip to content
Edit post

Latvian National Security Council convenes to address situation at Russian, Belarusian border

by Martin Fornusek August 17, 2023 2:26 PM 2 min read
"Stop - state border" written in three languages on the Latvian-Belarusian border near Kaplava, Latvia, Nov. 17, 2021. (Photo credit: Alexander Welscher/picture alliance via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics announced on Aug. 17 that he had called a National Security Council meeting to discuss the situation at the border with Russia and Belarus.

In particular, the Council is to address issues such as the Wagner Group presence in Belarus and Minsk's hybrid warfare attempts, the president wrote on Twitter.

The tensions at Belarus' borders with Poland and the Baltic countries have been mounting since 2021 when Minsk engineered a migrant crisis. Riga recently moved to deploy its military at the border after almost 100 illegal migrants attempted to cross it within 24 hours.

Concerns among NATO's eastern members spiked again following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and more recently when fighters of the Russian Wagner Group began moving to Belarus following their short-lived rebellion against the Kremlin.

According to the Latvian news outlet Delfi, the country's security services uncovered attempts to attract new recruits to the Wagner Group in Latvia. Russians comprise the largest ethnic minority in the Baltic country, making up about a quarter of the population.

Last week, Minsk also launched military drills near its border with Poland and Lithuania, not far from the strategic strip of land known as the "Suwalki gap."

In response to the escalating tensions, countries at NATO's eastern flank began reinforcing their eastern borders and limiting the number of border crossings.

Lithuanian President, Polish PM meet to discuss Wagner threat
President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda announced on Aug. 3 that he met with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to discuss the presence of the Wagner Group in Belarus and the threats it poses.
Three years of reporting, funded by our readers.
Millions read the Kyiv Independent, but only one in 10,000 readers makes a financial contribution. Thanks to our community we've been able to keep our reporting free and accessible to everyone. For our third birthday, we're looking for 1,000 new members to help fund our mission and to help us prepare for what 2025 might bring.
Three years. Millions of readers. All thanks to 12,000 supporters.
It’s thanks to readers like you that we can celebrate another birthday this November. We’re looking for another 1,000 members to help fund our mission, keep our journalism accessible for all, and prepare for whatever 2025 might bring. Consider gifting a membership today or help us spread the word.
Help us get 1,000 new members!
Become a member Gift membership
visa masterCard americanExpress

News Feed

3:44 PM

Russian ICBM strike would be 'clear escalation,' EU says.

"While we're assessing the full facts, it's obvious that such (an) attack would mark yet another clear escalation from the side of (Russian President Vladimir Putin," EU foreign affairs spokesperson Peter Stano said, according to AFP.
1:40 PM

Merkel describes Trump as 'fascinated by Putin' in her memoir.

"(Donald Trump) saw everything from the point of view of a property developer, which is what he was before he came into politics. Every plot of land could only be sold once, and if he didn't get it, someone else would," Angela Merkel says in her memoir.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.