Ukrainian man faces trial over plot to kill Latvian border guard

A Ukrainian citizen is facing trial for allegedly helping organise an attempted murder of a Latvian State Border Guard officer, LSM reported. Prosecutors say he was involved in the plot but was not the person who ordered the killing. The Latgale District Prosecutor’s Office sent the case to the Latgale District Court on October 9.

The alleged organiser, whose identity has not been established by investigators, is accused of forming a group of at least four Ukrainians and one Latvian citizen. Prosecutors say the aim was to avenge the officer’s disruption of illegal trade in excise goods and to ensure that smuggling and the entry of such goods into Latvia could continue without interference.

The Ukrainian defendant was tasked with finding two people to kill the officer and arranging their travel from Ukraine to Lithuania. He allegedly recruited them and promised payment. In October 2020, they met him in Lithuania, where he provided accommodation and money, showed them a photograph of the officer and told them to kill him. They then travelled to Latvia.

In November 2020, the two attackers confronted the officer in Daugavpils as he cycled home. One sprayed tear gas into his eyes while the other struck him on the head with a sledgehammer. The officer escaped, sustaining injuries, and the attackers did not complete the killing.

Prosecutors sent a separate case against the Latvian citizen involved in the matter to court in 2024. No person is considered guilty unless their guilt is established in accordance with criminal procedure.