Latvia Digs Anti-Tank Trenches and Installs 'Dragon's Teeth' on Eastern Border: 4 km of Trenches Done on Baltic Defence Line
Latvian Television reported on November 9 that construction of the Baltic Defence Line is continuing along Latvia's eastern border with Russia: four kilometres of anti-tank trenches have been dug and five kilometres of concrete 'dragon's teeth' obstacles installed, designed to impede the movement of potential enemy military equipment.
A total of 89 kilometres of trenches are planned, with the first 27 kilometres expected to be completed by next spring. The dragon's teeth, each weighing 1.5 tonnes and standing slightly over one metre tall, are being placed in three rows, alongside trenches just over two metres deep, only a few metres from the border fence with Russia. Latvian military representative Edgars Briedis said an attacker would have to fill in a trench or use combat bridges to cross it, while removing the dragon's teeth requires other systems entirely.
In the Balvi municipality border area, National Guard troops are completing the deployment of the defensive infrastructure. The National Guard says weather will not halt the work, which will continue through the winter.
The fortifications form part of the Baltic Defence Line, a joint effort by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. They will not run along the entire Latvian border with Russia and Belarus, which together extend for more than 450 kilometres. A total of €303 million has reportedly been allocated for the fortifications through 2029.
(Source: LSM)
Source: LSM
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：拉脱维亚巴尔维市街景资料图，国民警卫队正在该市所在区完成边境防御设施布设。照片：Aleksandrs Timofejevs 摄，CC BY 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: File photo of Balvi, Latvia, the municipality where the National Guard is completing border defence installations. Photo by Aleksandrs Timofejevs, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
