Krjukovs says Latvia can build force of 50,000 guards and reservists

Latvia could eventually build a force of 50,000 national guardsmen and reservists, National Guard Commander Aivars Krjukovs told LSM’s LSMnīca podcast.

Krjukovs said the figure was achievable and only a matter of time. The country’s defence plan calls for expanding the National Guard to 12,000 members, while the National Armed Forces currently have 10,000 national guardsmen.

He cited Finland, which has almost 800,000 reservists among its population of 5.5 million, as an example for Latvia.

“I think 50,000 is not an ambitious figure,” Krjukovs said. He added that the total would not include border guards, police officers, State Fire and Rescue Service personnel or emergency medical workers involved in crisis management.

Krjukovs said the National Guard’s strength remained its people, even as artificial intelligence, drones and other technologies change its work. New technologies must be learned and used both in everyday service and during crises, he said.

“A technological solution is not possible without people,” Krjukovs said, asking whether people were ready to help soldiers, border guards and rescue services, and to decide what their companies would do during a crisis.

He said the National Guard had become a pillar of national security during its 35 years of existence. It trains national guardsmen and conscripts serving in the State Defence Service, supports border guards on Latvia’s eastern border and continues developing the Baltic defence line, where its engineers are involved.

Krjukovs also said the National Guard was developing support units to provide backing for its members and was drawing on Ukraine’s experience with the aim of preventing war in Latvia.