The Belarus border tunnels reached Latvia—guards turned back the 15 migrants who crawled underground
The passage surfaced near Latvia’s fence as Riga moved to coordinate police, soldiers, and security services against migrant-smuggling networks.
On 11 August, Latvia uncovered its first known border tunnel used to illegally enter the country from Belarus, according to the State Border Guard. Officers intercepted 15 migrants who had crawled through the underground passage and returned them to their homeland. Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland hold Belarus and Russia responsible for directing migrants towards their borders in retaliation for EU sanctions, causing strain to countries supporting Ukraine. Belarus and Russia deny orchestrating the crossings.
The discovered tunnel was approximately 10 meters away from Latvia's border fence. Border guards apprehended the group on 10 August in Skrudaliena parish, located in Latvia’s southeastern Augšdaugava municipality, and publicly announced the discovery the following day. The operation entailed the State Police, a Lithuanian border-service dog handler, and a rapid-response unit, as reported by the Latvian Border Guard.
Officers reconstructed the migrants' route and discovered the tunnel near the Silene border post, about 10 meters from Latvia's fence. The agency noted receiving intelligence about a tunnel under construction but found no prior signs of a breach at the site. Latvia initiated Operation Vilkatis, or "Werewolf," on 11 August 2026, set to continue through the end of August.
The government claims that this operation will enhance intelligence-sharing among border guards, police, the military, and security services, expand aerial surveillance, and target networks transporting and sheltering migrants after crossing the border.
Written by urgent.news from Euromaidan Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
