Border Discovery Triggers Operation Werewolf as Latvia Fortifies Frontier Against Migrant Influx

Border guards near Daugavpils discover an underground passage near the Belarusian frontier, prompting Latvia to launch Operation Werewolf with military support and round-the-clock aerial surveillance.

Underground Passage Discovered Near Daugavpils

The border guard detained 15 individuals in sand-stained clothing during a nighttime operation near Daugavpils. According to authorities, the underground passage was located approximately 10 meters from the border fence.

Head of the Latvian Ministry of the Interior Janis Dombrava ordered a terrain reconnaissance along the border to determine if other tunnels or passages exist. Previously, migrants entered Latvian territory by utilizing gaps or breaches in the border barrier or by jumping over it.

Launch of Operation Werewolf and Military Reinforcements

We will continue our actions. We hope to completely halt the influx of illegal migration from Belarus, the minister said during a press conference.

The government simultaneously announced the launch of Operation Werewolf, aimed at combating this phenomenon, which poses a threat to the country’s security.

The border guard will be supported by the military, and a larger number of drones, helicopters, and airplanes will also be engaged for surveillance, announced Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs.

Hybrid Warfare and Border Surveillance

It is necessary to have full drone surveillance 24 hours a day, seven days a week, he added, emphasizing that ever since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Latvian border has been used as an element of hybrid warfare conducted by Belarus and aimed at infrastructure in Latvia.

In recent weeks, authorities in Riga reported intensifying migratory pressure directed by the regime in Minsk. At the beginning of August, they suspended traffic at the last active border crossing on the Belarusian border, Paternieki-Grigorovshchina.

Illegal Crossing Statistics and Regional Impact

Since the beginning of this year, Latvian officers have thwarted more than 9,550 attempts to illegally cross the Latvian-Belarusian border. In 2025, approximately 12,000 such cases were recorded.

Over the past two weeks, more than 80 migrants, mainly of African origin, were also detained in Estonia after most likely crossing the Belarusian-Latvian border illegally.