Researcher: Some people in Latvia are ready to cooperate with Russian intelligence services on sabotage

Valdis Kuzmins, a researcher at the National Defence Academy, said on the program "Spried ar Delfi" that statements from military and foreign policy leaders ruling out a military invasion of Latvia do not mean the country is free of threats. He noted that even when leaders of the National Armed Forces and foreign policy officials say a direct military invasion is not expected, this does not equate to full security.

Context: the Moscow visit

Kuzmins' remarks came amid widespread public concern following reports about a trip to Moscow by CIA Director John Ratcliffe. Several media outlets reported that the purpose of the visit was to try to persuade Russian leadership to refrain from escalating conflict with NATO member states, particularly Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Risk of sabotage

The researcher stressed that threats to Latvia may take forms other than direct military attack, including possible acts of sabotage. He pointed out that there are individuals willing to cooperate with Russian intelligence services, which creates an additional risk to national security regardless of whether a large-scale military conflict is anticipated.

The view expressed on the program highlights that security threat assessments should not be limited to the probability of a military invasion alone, but should also take into account other, less obvious forms of threat.