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Latvia installs dragon's teeth and anti-tank trenches on border with Russia

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Summary

  • Latvia is installing concrete dragon's teeth and digging anti-tank trenches along its roughly 280-mile border with Russia as it strengthens defenses against Russia.
  • The fortifications are part of the Baltic Defense Line, a joint initiative agreed by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in January 2024.
  • Each dragon's tooth weighs about 3,300 pounds and stands just over 3 feet 3 inches tall, arranged in rows to slow enemy vehicles.
  • About 3.1 miles of dragon's teeth had been installed and roughly 2.5 miles of trenches excavated along Latvia's eastern border as of the week before November 12, 2026.
  • The fortifications will not cover the whole frontier, because swamps, lakes and forests provide natural obstacles along the border.
  • Concerns that Russia could target the Baltic states have grown since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Reactions

  • Staff Sergeant Edgars Briedis of Latvia's National Guard said enemies would need different types of equipment to cross the trench and the dragon's teeth.
  • Briedis said the obstacles are spaced so vehicles cannot cross them, and holes link the teeth together so they cannot be pulled out individually.
  • Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament that intelligence assessments suggested Russia plans to attack NATO territory with drones or missiles.
  • Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the reports of Russian plans to attack NATO territory as scare-story material, saying they have nothing to do with reality.

Timeline newest first

  1. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the reports of Russian plans to attack NATO territory as scare-story material.

Sources newest first

  • NATO state lays "dragon's teeth" on 280-mile defense line to stop Russianewsweek.com· 2d

    Newsweek reports that Latvia is installing concrete "dragon's teeth" and digging anti-tank trenches along its 280-mile border with Russia and Belarus as part of the Baltic Defense Line agreed by the three Baltic states, though swamps and forests mean the fortifications won't cover the whole frontier. The article also covers Ukraine peace talks in Abu Dhabi, Witkoff and Kushner's Moscow meetings, and disputed claims about Russia targeting NATO territory.