Lithuania sends 20 border guards with service dogs to assist Latvia

Lithuania is dispatching 20 border guards accompanied by four service dogs to Latvia to help secure the European Union’s external border, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius announced during a government meeting on Tuesday.

“We continue to assist and will assist Latvia. Today, one Lithuanian border guard team returned from duty, and a new group—20 officers with four service dogs—will depart to contribute to joint efforts in protecting the EU’s external border,” the prime minister said.

Earlier, Latvia’s Interior Minister Janis Dombrava had expressed hope for greater Lithuanian involvement in border security and combating illegal migration, suggesting Lithuania send around 100 border officers. However, Lithuania’s Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas previously stated that the country currently lacks the capacity to deploy that many personnel.

Latvia shares a 172-kilometre border with Belarus, a close ally of Russia. Regional countries have accused Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko of deliberately redirecting migrants to the EU’s external border to exert pressure on the bloc. In response, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland have reinforced border protection and constructed barriers.