Lithuania expects Latvia to seek equipment, personnel for border security

VILNIUS - Lithuanian Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas expects Latvia to request technical equipment, including thermal imagers, in addition to personnel to strengthen its border security.

"We are in talks with the Latvian side. I hope they will express a need not only for physical capabilities and border guards on the ground (...) they also lack thermal imagers and night vision devices. Perhaps not as a gift, but we could lend them to strengthen their capabilities. There are many options, and I believe this is a conversation between our border leadership and theirs regarding specific needs," Katelynas told reporters on Thursday.

The minister said specific assistance should be negotiated by border services rather than politicians to ensure solutions are tailored to Latvia's actual requirements.

During the first six months of this year, secondary migration from Latvia to Lithuania surged from just over 300 to more than 1,200 foreigners. While Lithuania is already sending teams of border guards to assist Latvia, it does not intend to provide the full 100 officers requested.

Since early July, nine officers from the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service, accompanied by service dogs, have been deployed to Latvia to help secure the border with Belarus. A second group of border guards followed on July 15.

Saulius Nekrasevicius, deputy commander of the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service, said Latvia is currently the country most affected by instrumentalized migration. He reported approximately 150 attempted illegal border crossings in a single day, a figure comparable to the most difficult periods Lithuania experienced in 2021-2022.

Nekrasevicius added that Lithuania cannot reduce its own security presence on the Belarusian border, meaning the scale of aid and the number of specialists sent to Latvia are being constantly coordinated with Latvia.

The interior ministers of Lithuania and Latvia have also signed a cooperation agreement to combat crime, aimed at dismantling organized migrant smuggling networks.

The rise in secondary migration has also caused problems for Poland. In July 2025, Poland reinstated checks at its borders with Lithuania and Germany, with controls currently in place until October 1. Katelynas said he discussed the situation in Latvia with his Polish counterparts, and border plenipotentiaries from Lithuania and Poland were scheduled to meet on Thursday to discuss improving inspection procedures.

According to Katelynas, Latvia should negotiate directly with Polish border services for additional assistance.

According to Lithjuanian State Border Guard Service data, more than 8,000 migrants have attempted to enter Latvia from Belarus this year, either being detained and returned or deterred on the Belarusian side. This figure is nearly nine times higher than the number of attempted entries into Lithuania from Belarus.