Border Guard: violators and neighboring regimes using increasingly aggressive tactics against border infrastructure

Latvia's State Border Guard (VRS) says it has recorded multiple incidents of deliberately cut cables, damaged distribution cabinets and vandalized video surveillance equipment along the eastern border with Belarus and Russia. According to the agency, these are not random acts of vandalism but targeted attempts to disrupt the rollout of new border surveillance technology. The Border Guard notes that methods used by violators, backed by neighboring regimes, are becoming increasingly aggressive and calculated, compounding damage already caused by severe storms.

Construction remains on schedule

Despite these challenges, the "Automated Border Surveillance Infrastructure" project progressed according to plan in the third quarter. On the Latvia-Belarus border's first section, construction has been completed in eight of 11 parts, with modern technology already installed along 81.7 kilometers, or more than 72% of that stretch. In the second section, the first 19.9 kilometers (33.17%) have been put into operation, while work in the remaining area is essentially finished and documentation approval is underway. Design work for the eighth stage has been completed, with everything ready to begin construction.

The situation remains more complicated on the Latvia-Russia border, where builders in the fifth stage must contend with difficult soil conditions and challenging terrain. Nevertheless, favorable weather allowed 28% of the planned infrastructure in that section to be built during the quarter.

According to earlier reports, technological equipping of the Belarus border is due to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2026, while work on the Russia border is set to conclude by the end of that year. A March report to parliament by the government of former Prime Minister Evika Siliņa stated that once completed, Latvia's entire eastern border will be fully equipped to respond in real time to threats, including hybrid warfare, organized crime and illegal migration.