Incident at the NATO border: Masked men invaded Latvia

Military incident on the NATO border

Is Putin sending out “green men” again?

Armed men have invaded NATO territory in Latvia. The army speaks of a hybrid threat.

There has been an incident on the Latvian border that is reminiscent of the preparations for the Russian conquest of Crimea. Several black-clad and armed men crossed from Belarus coming to the border, as Latvian Interior Minister Jānis Dombrava reports.

When Putin decided to annex Crimea in 2014, soldiers without national insignia in green uniforms appeared at the beginning of October. The Kremlin ruler called them “local self-defense forces,” and the media spoke of “little green men.” He later had to admit that they were actually Russian soldiers.

The incident at the border between Latvia and Belarus goes beyond the usual smuggling of migrants. This time there was a military confrontation. As the Russian investigative magazine “Stories” reports, the unknown people initially tried to bring around 20 migrants across the border. However, they were pushed back by Latvian soldiers using armed force. But hours later they returned.

Masked men damaged a distribution box and stole some surveillance cameras. They then returned across the border to Belarus.

“Recent events confirm that targeted provocations and hybrid threats will continue on the Latvia-Belarus border, using illegal migration as a means to put pressure on Latvia’s external border as well as on the European Union and the NATO to exercise,” the Latvian Armed Forces said in a statement.

Belarus is one of Russia’s most important allies. The country has allowed Russian forces to station troops and equipment in the war of aggression against Ukraine. Attacks on Ukraine are carried out from there again and again.

According to their own statements, the previously unknown group “Black Russes” is behind the action at the border. A video appeared on social media on October 12th in which the group committed itself to the action.

“We officially acknowledge the incident at the Latvia-Belarus border in the Kaplava municipality of the Krāslava district. We confirm that on the night of October 5-6, a group of three ‘Black Rus’ activists crossed the border and clashed with Latvian military personnel. They then returned to Latvia near the village of Matuliški, stole surveillance cameras, damaged equipment and stayed undetected,” said the video shared on Telegram.

The speaker is referred to as “Neman”. The group announced that it would carry out further acts of sabotage against neighboring countries of Belarus. It was a test for Latvia that the country failed. “The EU and NATO are colossi with feet of clay that will collapse after our first strike,” the group said in a statement.