Russia has recently been unable to cope with Ukrainian drone attacks on its energy and port infrastructure, said the Commander of the Latvian National Armed Forces Kaspars Pudāns in an interview with the TV3 programme 900 sekundes.
He noted that Belarus is also involved in the warfare with its own resources, and both countries are struggling with many internal problems.
Although Russia’s military bases remain in the same locations as they were in 2013, the presence of troops there is much smaller, as they are currently engaged in fighting in Ukraine, said the Latvian army commander.
At the same time, it must be understood — and preparations must be made — that in the event of a potential end of the war or a ceasefire, Russian and Belarusian forces will partially withdraw and return to their bases, including those near Latvia’s borders, Pudāns explained, confirming that the Latvian army is taking this into account.
Asked to share key conclusions following Ukrainian drones entering Latvian airspace while targeting Russia — and the subsequent wave of disinformation from Russian media — the NBS commander explained that
the Kremlin is trying to conceal from its own society that it is unable to cope with such attacks.
As a result, Russian society is now seeing the reality of war being transferred from Ukraine onto its own territory.
Pudāns has observed that Russian state propaganda is no longer focused on narratives about how quickly it could occupy the Baltic states, but rather on claims that NATO is allegedly implementing plans to threaten Russia. In this way, Russia is preparing its society for possible future mobilisation and economic tightening, including reductions in benefits, as this may be necessary to sustain the war effort in Ukraine, the NBS commander noted.
Meanwhile, Latvia has learned from the incursions of drones into its airspace by maintaining constant readiness and developing new procedures and reporting systems.
“It is clear that these attacks carried out by Ukraine on Russian territory expand the area in which we must be prepared to respond to threats, and this is the main lesson we have learned in recent weeks — to extend our operations along the entire border, partly stretching our capabilities and partly perhaps economising them elsewhere,” Pudāns concluded.
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