Latvia Says Evidence Points to Belarusian Military Role in Irregular Migrant Crossings
Authorities say images and documents found on migrants’ phones point to Belarusian military involvement, though details about when and where the evidence was gathered remain unclear.
Latvia said on Thursday that it had uncovered evidence suggesting Belarusian military involvement in planning and carrying out irregular migrant crossings across the two countries’ border, escalating long-running accusations that Minsk has weaponized migration against the European Union.
“Identified cases indicate coordinated actions, including the transportation of illegal migrants using Belarusian military vehicles and the participation of officials in organizing attempted border crossings,” a statement issued by Latvia’s Ministry of Defense.
The evidence included internal military documents and images showing Belarusian border guards alongside migrants. The images were found on mobile phones belonging to migrants detained after crossing the border illegally. The material also included photographs of walkie-talkie devices and an image showing three people inside a vehicle, one of whom appears to be wearing a Belarusian military uniform.
The ministry said it had identified the seized material as belonging to members of a reconnaissance battalion from the 19th Guards Mechanized Infantry Brigade, a Belarusian military unit based in the Vitebsk region. Latvian officials did not say when or where the images were taken.
The accusations are the latest in a series of claims by European Union countries that Belarus has orchestrated migrant flows as a form of political pressure. The crisis dates to 2021, when Belarus relaxed visa requirements for citizens of several countries, leading to a surge in migrants arriving at the borders of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. European governments have accused Minsk of weaponizing migration in retaliation for Western sanctions.
Human rights organizations have criticized the response of countries along the E.U.’s eastern frontier. Amnesty International reported in 2022 that Latvian authorities carried out pushbacks of migrants and asylum seekers at the Belarus border and documented cases of secret detention and ill-treatment. The group has also reported abuses against migrants by authorities in Belarus, Poland and Lithuania.
Belarusian officials have previously denied encouraging irregular migration into the European Union.
Kirill Romanovskiy