The government of Latvia declared a state of emergency in a number of regions near the border with the Russian Federation and closed one of the border crossings.
This is reported by Delfi.
A state of emergency was declared in the Aluksne, Balvi and Ludza areas. The reason for such actions is the partial mobilization announced in Russia and possible threats to Latviaʼs internal security. Previously, the Augšdaugava region was also mentioned in the draft government resolution, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Latvia specified that the governmentʼs decision concerns only three regions.
The government also decided to close the border crossing in Pededze and instructed the State Border Guard to strengthen control on the Latvian-Russian border and to more thoroughly check citizens of the Russian Federation arriving in Latvia.
Since September 19, Latvians have banned the entry of 57 Russian citizens. 2,475 Russian citizens entered the country legally.
So far, 16 citizens of the Russian Federation have requested asylum in Latvia. Most of them noted that they are being persecuted because of disagreement with the policy of the Russian authorities, two more are forced to seek asylum due to the mobilization announced in Russia.
The Minister of Internal Affairs Kristaps Eklons previously stated that mobilization in the Russian Federation is not a reason for granting asylum in Latvia.
- On September 21, Putin announced a partial mobilization in Russia, supported the holding of pseudo-referendums in the occupied territories of Ukraine and threatened nuclear weapons in case of an attack on the Russian Federation. Due to the mobilization, Russians began to actively flee the country.