Russia may be preparing Baltic provocations, Latvian president warns

Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs has confirmed that intelligence services have warned of the possibility that Russia may be preparing provocations targeting the Baltic states, echoing similar concerns recently voiced by Lithuanian officials.

Speaking during a visit to Lithuania, Rinkēvičs said intelligence assessments shared by Latvia, Lithuania, NATO allies, and partner countries point to an increased risk of hybrid threats, LRT reports.

"The information we receive from Lithuania, Latvia, other NATO countries, as well as from the intelligence services of various states, indicates attempts to organize sabotage and hybrid attacks aimed at undermining the security of our countries, and such actions are entirely possible," Rinkēvičs said at a press conference in Vilnius.

His comments followed an earlier warning by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, who said intelligence services had identified signs of potential Russian provocations against the Baltic region.

Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said there is currently no evidence of a Russian troop buildup along the country's border, but stressed that intelligence agencies have observed an increase in hostile activity linked to the Kremlin.

"First of all, I should clarify that our intelligence services are doing their job, and we do not observe any concentration of Russian troops along our border. There is no conventional military threat at this stage. However, there are various provocations and false flag campaigns; the likelihood of such actions is increasing, and our intelligence is recording a rise in Russia's hostile activities," Kaunas said.

By Vafa Guliyeva