Currently it is unclear if the pressure from illegal migration on the border could return to last year’s levels, said Latvian Minister of the Interior Rihards Kozlovskis in an interview to Latvijas Radio.
He reminded that in winter there was a period when there wasn’t a single attempt to cross over to Latvia illegally. For two weeks now, however, border authorities have been noticing more and more attempts to illegally cross the Latvian border. The same is happening in Lithuania and Poland.
“The question is whether this comes back to mass attempts or stays on a scale of small groups,” said the politician, agreeing that better weather conditions could be a contributing factor. The anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine could serve as a catalyst for increased pressure.
“So far, we cannot say the situation is what it was last year,” said Kozlovskis, stressing that services are prepared to act if the need appears.
The minister also stressed it is difficult to explain why attempts to illegally cross Latvia’s border were primarily from the side of Belarus and not from Russia, because Russia is the one who carries people to the Belarusian border.
As previously reported, in autumn 2023 Latvian border guards prevented around 100 people’s attempts to illegally enter Latvia every day. Since then the numbers have gone down significantly.
Last year, 13 863 people were prevented from crossing the state border illegally, while 428 people were admitted for humanitarian reasons. In 2022, attempts by 5 286 people to illegally cross the Latvian-Belarusian border were prevented, while 217 people were not prevented from crossing the border due to humanitarian reasons.
Latvian State Border Guard and other authorities are on high alert in areas bordering Belarus.
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