“January and the beginning of February could be described as quiet. However, the past few days show that the number of offences is increasing again,” said border guard chief Guntis Pujats on Latvian television on Monday.
According to the report, there have already been 46 illegal border crossing attempts in March - after a total of 75 in February. Pujats attributed the increase to the warmer weather. “The cold winter has had a deterrent effect,” he said.
Latvia, a member of both the European Union and NATO, has a border with Russia’s close ally Belarus in the east. It is around 172 kilometres long and forms part of the EU’s external frontier.
The Baltic state, along with Poland and Lithuania, accuses Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko of bringing migrants to the EU’s external border to create political pressure. This is tolerated, or even deliberately encouraged, by the Belarusian authorities in order to create political pressure.
Last year, Latvia reported that it prevented more than 13,000 migrants from crossing the border from Belarus – compared to just under 5,300 in 2022. The government in Riga has strengthened the border in response to the sharp increase, building a frontier fence and closing the Silene border crossing.