Latvia says Russia has increased ‘sub-conventional’ activity

Russia has increased its “sub-military, sub-conventional” activity, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze said Wednesday, adding that Moscow had never stopped such activities.

Speaking at a joint news conference in Stockholm with Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard, Braze said Russia continued its hybrid operations.

Asked whether there was evidence that Russia had increased hybrid attacks following Tuesday’s reports that Slovak police foiled a planned arson attack on a drone factory, Braze said Russia “never stopped” such activities.

“The indicators are that Russia has increased its sort of sub-military, sub-conventional activity,” she said.

"We have seen also various activities on the platforms, gaming platforms, Telegram groups and so on so forth, trying to create disinformation narratives," said Braze.

Russia has not yet responded to remarks from the Latvian foreign minister.

Braze said there was no indication of peace in Ukraine, meaning defense and security would remain a “priority for us nationally but also for the region, EU and NATO.”

She said maintaining NATO as a strong defense alliance and working with transatlantic allies were priorities for Latvia.

Braze noted that Latvia shares borders with both Estonia and Russia and said the country was doing “everything” in terms of radars, sensors, anti-drone capabilities, and layered air defense systems.

“Because we stand there for not just ourselves but also for the rest of Europe and NATO,” she added.

Recalling some recent sabotage attempts across Europe, Braze said they were happening “everywhere,” calling for working together to counter these attempts.

"They are trying to divide us, they are trying to undermine support to Ukraine,” she added.

For her part, Stenergard said that they do not see that kind of Russian campaign in Sweden, but added: “We are, of course, very carefully watching ahead of the elections whether they will try to influence us in any way.”

She said that in addition to bolstering Sweden’s own defense, the country needed to coordinate “even more closely with our neighbors and allies.”

“Therefore, I have told Baiba today that the Moderate Party will, if we win the election, work to create Nordic-Baltic Air Defense Shield,” she added.

Stenergard said the initiative would seek to link different air defense systems to enable rapid target identification and counter threats more effectively.

“Creating comprehensive protection throughout the region requires several layers of system, working together and sharing sensor data to detect and counter ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones and other threats,” she said.

Stenergard added that such cooperation would be essential to making full use of planned defense investments.