He urged those wishing to return to Latvia to use alternative routes.
Border control impossible to carry out
Kristine Peterson, a public relations specialist at the State Border Guard Service, confirmed to the news agency LETA that there are currently technical problems at the Paternieki border control point on the Belarus-Latvia border.
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Due to these problems related to information system malfunctions, it is currently impossible to carry out border control.
K. Peterson also noted that the causes of the problems and the time for their resolution are unknown, but the State Border Guard Service will provide updated information about the possibilities to cross the border.
On Thursday, J. Dombrava urged Latvian residents to abandon any plans to travel to Belarus or return from it.
“Under the conditions of the hybrid migration war waged by Belarus, safe travel between countries may become complicated,” the minister noted.
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He also mentioned that Estonia “is a friend of Latvia,” and reported that after last week’s meeting with Estonian Interior Minister Igor Taro, he received confirmation that Estonia is sending additional border guards to strengthen Latvia’s external border.
Enhanced surveillance regime until the end of the year
It was previously announced that the government extended the enhanced surveillance regime along Latvia’s border with Belarus until the end of the year. The enhanced border protection regime applies in Ludza and Ludza municipality parishes, Kraslava and Kraslava municipality parishes, the Augšdaugava municipality, Daugavpils, and the Kaunata area of the Rēzekne municipality.
In 2025, 12,046 people were prevented from illegally crossing the Belarus-Latvia border, and 31 people were allowed entry for humanitarian reasons. In 2024, border guards prevented 5,388 migrants from entering Latvia, while 26 people were allowed to cross the border for humanitarian reasons.
Latvian officials consider the attempts by the authoritarian Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko’s regime to push migrants across the borders of Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland as hybrid warfare methods directed against these countries.
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