To assess the work done in recent years to strengthen the eastern border, a large delegation headed by Prime Minister Evika Siliņa went there the day before.
"Undoubtedly, it is necessary to continue working on strengthening military defensive capabilities. Currently, the development of civil infrastructure is actually ongoing, including the installation of various sensors and the provision of technical equipment. Definitely, the work on strengthening defense capabilities must continue. I know that land is being alienated. I hope that when I come here in some time, we will see a much larger deployment of defensive capabilities, especially on the border with Russia," said Siliņa to TV3 News.
The security of airspace is also becoming increasingly significant — threats are becoming technologically more complex, including cases of military drones flying into and falling in Latvia, so new anti-drone systems are being tested and additional solutions are being sought.
"We cannot see everything — much depends on what is flying and at what altitude. I think that in this regard, the capabilities are being strengthened; we are currently expecting new types of weapons that could intercept them, because even the means currently deployed at the border have their limitations. We have ordered new anti-drone devices, and they are being tested at the border. It is clear that one means is not enough; a very comprehensive approach is needed; everything is developing, unfortunately, and the Russian side is enhancing its technical equipment. It is important for us to protect our residents," Siliņa added.
The construction of the eastern border is being carried out in stages, and the work is progressing according to plan — it is expected to be completed this year. Meanwhile, pressure on the border area remains high — this year, both the number of illegal border crossings and the number of their transporters have increased.
"The numbers are already approaching two thousand at the moment. The trend is similar to last year — there were more than 12 thousand then. It seems that there will be no calm summer. Our plan is for all sections to be like this one, and so it will be. This is not some demo version — this is one of the sections where a platform, patrol road, fence, and video surveillance have been built. Thus, the entire border will be completed this year in this form, and it is expected that the number of these violations will significantly decrease," said the head of the State Border Guard, Guntis Pujats.
Recent observations show that illegal migrants most often attempt to enter the country by climbing over the fence using homemade ladders, rather than digging under it as before. However, after the completion of all infrastructure and the implementation of technological solutions, it is planned to switch to rapid response at specific points in the future, hoping to significantly reduce the number of violations.
"In my opinion, overall, we have made a significant step forward. It should be noted that this year Latvia is under great pressure due to the number of illegal border crossings. Also, in the last 24 hours, more than 60 transporters have been detained. It seems that not all transporters realize what they are doing. We have made changes to the regulations, and the Criminal Code now provides for liability starting from a minimum punishment — two years of imprisonment. When it comes to real actions, people understand the situation they are in," noted the Minister of the Interior, Rihards Kozlovskis.
It is planned that this year the entire eastern border will be equipped according to a unified standard, combining physical infrastructure with technological solutions. This will allow in the future to transition from constant patrolling to rapid response at specific points, significantly reducing the number of violations.
At the end of the visit, officials also visited the border control point in Silene, where they discussed further challenges for the border service and strengthening response capabilities.
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Strengthening the eastern border is one of the government's priorities.
— Evika Siliņa 🇱🇻🇺🇦 (@EvikaSilina) April 30, 2026
Compared to my previous visit, the situation at the Eastern border has significantly changed – the construction of the border has been completed, and the surveillance and airspace defense system has been modernized. This allows border guards to do much… pic.twitter.com/alOUE9K3wc
