There will be no occupant war trains running on Latvian territory - defense minister

RIGA - There will be no occupant war trains running on Latvian territory, Defense Minister Andris Spruds (Progressives) told reporters on Tuesday, commenting on a discussion about a possible dismantling of rail tracks in Latvia's eastern border regions.

The minister noted that border fortification involves a range of activities and measures, from deploying barriers, acquiring mines and artillery systems, to preparing infrastructure for a possible attack. Not only railways, but also land routes are being assessed accordingly. The measures in the anti-mobility plan and the Baltic Defense Line are being implemented in cooperation with the State Border Guard.

"As far as the rail tracks are concerned, first of all, I can say here with full confidence that there will be no occupant war trains running on Latvian territory," Spruds stated.

He indicated that the National Armed Forces (NAF) have been instructed to assess various alternatives to limit mobility. The possible dismantling of the rails is being discussed in parallel in the government, as other factors have to be taken into account. "From the security and defense perspective, we are looking at all these issues very thoroughly. By the end of the year we will have made the assessment and early next year we will come up with concrete conclusions," the defense minister said.

Spruds argued that coordination with allies, both those deployed in Latvia and in the other Baltic states, is needed on this issue. "Because as we see in other issues, for example the Ottawa Convention, we coordinate these things. Also, after the meeting of the Baltic presidents, it was stated that the common position of the Baltic states is important," Spruds said.

NAF Commander Kaspars Pudans told reporters that over the years, when developing the operational plan for national defense, the NAF has aimed to understand the intentions of the adversary, and this analysis is constantly updated.

Additional resources have been reallocated to the Baltic Defense Line, and they are helping to undertake more targeted measures to stop and confuse a potential adversary. Different solutions are therefore being sought to limit the freedom of action and movement of potential invaders. Railways are just one such corridor that the military is evaluating.

"We are looking at different solutions. At the same time, coordination with neighboring countries on their choices and solutions is necessary," Pudans said.

Spruds added that work is ongoing to build a drone wall on the eastern border. This is being done at two levels - national and European Union (EU).

At the national level, various types of drones have been purchased and will continue to be purchased, and acoustic detection systems have been introduced throughout the eastern border of the country. The Air Force has recently received Giraffe 1X air surveillance radars.

Meanwhile, Latvian industry is developing electronic warfare assets, cruise missiles, and mobile platforms. Following the tests, interceptors are being procured from Latvian companies, with the first interceptors due to be delivered at the end of the year. Drones tested in Ukraine will also be purchased, so that the most effective unmanned aerial vehicles can be compared and evaluated in a test mode.

At the EU level, funding is an important component. Latvia, together with the Netherlands and Croatia, is committed to developing drone capability that includes interceptor drones. Latvia stresses that its external border is also the external border of both the EU and NATO, which requires a common position and funding. Latvia continues efforts to raise the necessary funding and, to a large extent, the current EU position is that the drone wall is and will remain a priority.

It is not easy to build such a drone wall and it is a complex task in general, the defense minister concluded.

As reported, several ministries and security authorities have been instructed to prepare an opinion by the end of the year on the impact of the demolition of the rail tracks on the Russian border on Latvia.

If Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia decided to dismantle the rail links to Russia and Belarus, the decision should be a joint one, the Baltic president said following a meeting in Riga on December 4.