Estonia sending more border guards to help Latvia

The decision came after several dozen illegal migrants who entered the country through Belarus and Latvia were detained in Estonia in recent days, as previously reported. Pressure on the Latvian‑Belarusian section of the border is growing, and attempts to cross illegally have increased significantly in recent weeks. Estonian Interior Minister Igor Taro, who visited the Latvian‑Belarusian border last week, said the situation there is very serious. "It is rush hour at the border, you could say. The Belarusian regime is deliberately sending these migrants into the forest, gathering them in special camps, preparing them, giving them all kinds of tools to overcome obstacles on Latvia's external state border. The situation is quite complicated," he said. "This is part of Russia's overall aggression tactics, and Belarus is their ally. Even if they are not acting actively in a military sense, they still support logistics and various relays used to direct drones toward Ukraine. And one form of this supportive activity is sending illegal migrants toward European countries that help Ukraine, to create additional problems and force them to spend resources," the minister continued. He said illegal migrants create problems for the entire society. When migration centres are overcrowded, resources are needed to house these people and to find interpreters and other specialists. All this creates a serious burden that Latvia feels most acutely right now, but there have also been cases of people detained on Estonian territory. In recent days, more than 30 migrants who entered Europe after illegally crossing the Belarusian border were detained in Tallinn. Taro said Estonia is much better prepared today for possible migration challenges than it was several years ago. In recent years the state has steadily strengthened the external border: a border fence has been built, and work continues on installing modern surveillance systems and other equipment to control the area. He also stressed that the fence itself is not an absolute barrier. Its main purpose is to give border guards time to respond to attempts to cross illegally. Lithuanian public media LRT reported this week that border guards discovered an underground tunnel near the Belarus border that may have been built to move illegal migrants into the country. The tunnel already extended several meters into Lithuanian territory, but its exit had not yet been completed. In that case, Polish officials assisted their Lithuanian counterparts, bringing specialist equipment designed to search for tunnels. After drilling a hole, officers discovered a tunnel which did not yet have an opening into Lithuanian territory. And in Latvia itself, people smugglers have been using a variety of disguised vehicles to aid their illegal trade.