Russia’s battlefield losses could push Moscow toward more hybrid attacks against NATO’s eastern flank, where “there cannot be a weak link,” Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs told TVP World. Kulbergs, who became prime minister in May, spoke as Poland heightened security over fears of possible Russian provocations. He said Moscow’s difficulties in Ukraine were increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin and could lead to more sabotage, cyberattacks and other hostile activity below the threshold of open war. Hybrid pressure on the eastern flank Kulbergs pointed to arson, sabotage and cyber operations as tactics Russia could intensify, warning that artificial intelligence was making some cyber activity easier. “So we have to be prepared for everything,” he said. The Latvian leader said Riga was already facing sustained pressure on its border with Belarus, describing irregular migration as part of a wider hybrid campaign. He said eastern-flank countries must share intelligence and support one another rather than respond separately. “We have to be one strong border against the aggressor,” Kulbergs said. Latvia temporarily closed its only functioning border crossing with Belarus in August amid a surge in attempted illegal entries, which officials in Riga described as a hybrid attack organized by Minsk. Read more: Latvia closes border with Belarus as migrant crossings surge NATO forces must stay forward Kulbergs also backed an allied military presence in Latvia, arguing that NATO cannot allow a repeat of Russia’s use of unmarked troops in Ukraine in 2014. “We have to have boots on the ground,” he said, thanking Poland and other NATO allies for deploying forces in Latvia. He added that “Russia is so involved and unsuccessful in Ukraine that it is incapable of opening another front,” refuting the imminent threat of a direct Russian military attack on the Baltic states.
