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The hybrid campaign against NATO’s Eastern flank is intensifying.
Latvia’s top security official has raised new concerns about activity along the European Union’s and NATO’s eastern frontier.
Normunds Mežviets, head of Latvia’s State Security Service (VDD), told The Telegraph that Belarus is intensifying what he described as a hybrid campaign against Europe.
And the methods used by Belarus is getting increasingly brutal.
Using migrants as a weapon
Mežviets told the outlet, migrants are being directed toward EU borders, particularly Poland and the Baltic states, as part of broader pressure linked to Russia’s standoff with the West.
“I remember the first few years, they were pretty, pretty calm… but in the last year, everything is getting more aggressive,” Mežviets told The Telegraph.
Tens of thousands of people have crossed or attempted to cross in recent years, according to officials, straining border enforcement systems.
Fake scars
Mežviets described efforts to manipulate migrants before they reach EU territory. He said Belarusian authorities show them staged videos portraying European border guards as violent.
He called the tactic an “information operation,” aimed at shaping expectations and behaviour.
In fact, the “scars” shown by the migrants are not real, but just “bad, pretty simple makeup,” Mežviets said, noting that he is no expert on the subject of scars.
Training migrants to fight
The VDD chief also pointed to intelligence suggesting migrants may be receiving preparation before crossing.
“We have information that they are training them [to be more violent],” he told The Telegraph, without disclosing operational details.
According to Mežviets, Belarus has built infrastructure near the border, including facilities that may support such activities.
Sources: The Telegraph, la.lv
