Ukraine war: All countries bordering Russia are ‘at risk’, Latvian military commander warns

All countries bordering Russia are now at risk, according to a senior official’s assessment of the country currently receiving military support from Canada.

After two people were killed in a missile attack in Poland last week in the wake of a war that escalated in Ukraine, Latvia is reminding the world that it too is under threat from Russia. It shares her 300-kilometer border with Russia and has been annexed twice historically.

The risk of being swallowed up again “cannot be ruled out,” Colonel Didis Nestro, head of the Latvian military’s land division, said in an interview with the Canadian Press last week.

Canada plays a leading role in supporting NATO members of this Baltic nation. More than 1,200 of her soldiers from 10 of her countries, including 700 of her from Canada, are training at Camp Adazi as a unified combat group to defend Latvia. The country’s regular army counts about 6,000 members.

“All the wars Russia has waged, starting with Chechnya, seem to be aimed at regaining access points[from Soviet-era and earlier Czarist Russia]and protecting access points to the outside world,” Nesro said. said in a modest office inside a large military complex on the outskirts of the Latvian capital Riga.

“When you circle Russia’s borders, you see that basically every country bordering Russia is at risk in this way,” said Nesro, who is also chief of staff for government affairs. .

A territory previously conquered by the Russian Empire, Latvia had to win its independence twice. After becoming a state after World War I, it was annexed to the Soviet Union in 1939 under Joseph Stalin. It then declared independence again in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

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“The risk (of an annexation) has decreased, but (but) we cannot rule out the possibility that something could happen,” Nestro said. “Russia and[Russian President Vladimir]Putin are unpredictable, which is why, as a country and as an alliance, we have a certain amount of caution in facing this kind of unpredictable situation. is.”

Latvia does not hesitate to express its full support for Ukraine. The Ukrainian flag is prominently displayed throughout Riga, especially on official buildings. Large murals also pay tribute to Ukrainians or condemn the destruction of the past port city of Mariupol.

Its support remains unshakeable, despite the fatal incident last week in which a missile believed to have strayed from Ukraine killed two people in a border town in NATO-ally Poland.

“We are now carefully assessing the situation and then drawing conclusions,” said Nestro. “But one thing is clear: this is just the result of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. That’s what we’re seeing now.”

Nestro said some of the pressure on border countries had eased since the war began in February, noting that Russia had to deploy more military resources to the Ukrainian front. Still, both Russian resources and active threats remain, he said.

He pointed out that there are Russian bases near the Latvian border, some as far as 30 kilometers away. Russia also has an airborne division in Pskov, helicopters very close to the border, motorized infantry brigades and special forces, he said.

A senior Latvian official also said that Baltic air and naval forces still have strike capabilities.

The incident in Poland raises questions about whether something similar could happen in Latvia.

“It’s collective defense. It’s all NATO members together,” said Nestro. “And there are specific systems that are reading various threat indicators and warnings, including air defense and air raid threats.”

However, Latvia’s air defense system has a short range of 5 to 6 kilometers, and the alternative system offered by Spain is also limited, Nestro said.

Nonetheless, Putin “must think twice before attacking a NATO member,” Nestro said. Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty stipulates that if a member state falls victim to an armed attack, other member states shall also be deemed to have been attacked and retaliate.

© 2022 The Canadian Press