Belarus leader rejects blame for armed men incident on Latvia border

Alyaksandr Lukashenka has denied that Belarus was behind an incident on the border with Latvia in which masked armed men reportedly tried to force migrants across the frontier. Speaking at a meeting with security officials on 13 October, he accused Latvia of staging the episode and dismissed the allegations against Minsk as nonsense.

Key facts

• On the night of 6 October, masked armed men reportedly tried to bring 20 migrants from Belarus into Latvia.
• Latvia's Interior Ministry says the men later entered Latvian territory, damaged equipment and stole video cameras.
• A little-known group calling itself "Black Rus" claimed responsibility and threatened further provocations.
• Lukashenka says no such operation was agreed with him and blames Latvia for the incident.

What happened at the border?

According to the account in the source, masked armed men tried on the night of 6 October to bring 20 migrants from Belarus into Latvia. They threatened Latvian servicemen after the servicemen refused to allow the crossing.

Several hours later the men returned and managed to enter Latvian territory. Latvia's Interior Ministry said they then damaged equipment and stole video cameras.

A little-known group calling itself "Black Rus" later claimed responsibility. The group does not explicitly identify itself as Belarusian, although its social media posts hint at a connection, and it has threatened further provocations and acts of sabotage "in other sections of our border".

What does Lukashenka say?

Addressing security officials on 13 October, Lukashenka dismissed the accusations as nonsense and insisted Belarus had nothing to do with the incident. He argued that any such operation would have required his approval — and said none was agreed with him, adding: "Things like this are impossible without the president's approval."

He instead blamed Latvia, saying he had been briefed that the episode was staged by the Latvians as a pretext to secure money from the European Union.

What did he say about border fences?

Lukashenka thanked neighbouring countries for building fences along their borders with Belarus, saying such barriers would work to Belarus's advantage in the event of aggression, which he said could only come from those neighbours. He also suggested the fences would not stop migrants from entering the EU, claiming migrants need between four and six minutes to get over them and that hundreds of millions of dollars had been spent on them.

He told the meeting he had warned neighbouring states "openly and frankly" that Belarus was preparing for war in order to prevent it, and again insisted Belarus had no intention of attacking the EU or NATO. He described Western warnings about a possible Russian attack launched from Belarusian territory as an information campaign, according to Pul Pervogo, a Telegram channel affiliated with his press service.

What this means for travellers

The source does not report any change to border crossing procedures, entry requirements or travel rules for Latvia or Belarus as a result of the incident. Travellers planning to use the Latvia-Belarus border can follow statements from Latvia's Interior Ministry, which is the body cited in the source on what occurred.

No further official response from Latvia's government or any investigation findings are reported in the source.