Latvia Starts Digging Ditches On Its Belarus Border

A chain of fortifications will be created.

Along the Latvian border with Russia and Belarus, the military will create a chain of strongholds: defensive fortifications, obstacles and ammunition depots.

This has been reported by LSM.

It is noted that the country plans to spend 303 million euros on this over five years.

According to the engineering inspector of the National Armed Forces (NAF) of Latvia, Lieutenant Colonel Kaspars Lazdiņš, the first defensive line will be erected at a distance of about a kilometer from the border with Russia, near the border point of Terehovo in the Lauda region. Anti-tank ditches are being dug there.

“Here we are digging up the road and making an anti-tank ditch so that if necessary, it would be impossible for vehicles to move along this road. Including tanks. This ditch has the specified parameters and the appropriate depth to fulfill its purpose,” he said.

Lazdiņš noted that the Latvian “anti-mobility plan” provides for the creation of a chain of obstacles and the use of natural barriers — rivers, swamps, and forests. At the same time, he noted that mining of fields could occur in the event of hostilities, but for now we are only talking about obstacles without the use of explosives.

He also noted that the land on which the work is being carried out has an owner who allows a ditch to be dug on his territory, but at the same time fully retains ownership of it.

According to Kaspars Lazdiņš, Latvia will first focus on the first line of defense and plans to dig anti-tank ditches along the border, and then strengthen it with “dragon teeth”. He added that each neighborhood will have its own solutions.

It is noted that places for storing ammunition will be determined in accordance with regulations and military necessity.