Latvia digs anti-tank ditches and installs concrete “dragon’s teeth” on border with Russia and Belarus

Latvia is building fortifications along its border with Russia and Belarus: it is digging anti-tank ditches and installing concrete barriers known as "dragon's teeth". In the border zone of the Balvi region, National Guard soldiers are finishing the deployment, and ditches more than five metres wide have already been dug there. Concrete barriers on the border are being installed in three rows.

In early October, Latvia's parliament passed a law on the creation of counter-mobility infrastructure. It was drafted to make it easier to build the Baltic Defence Line.

In total, ditches 89 km long are planned. According to the Ukrainian outlet Ukrinform, four kilometres of ditches have been dug and five kilometres of "dragon's teeth" installed along Latvia's eastern border so far. Belarusian state media report that on the border with Belarus, in the Augšdaugava region, Latvia has already dug the first 6 km of ditch.

Each "dragon's tooth" element weighs one and a half tonnes and is slightly over a metre high. Staff Sergeant Edgars Briedis of the engineer company of the National Guard's 2nd Zemgale Brigade explained that the obstacles are spaced so that enemy vehicles cannot get past them, and special recesses allow several "teeth" to be linked together. "These obstacles are placed at such a distance from each other that enemy vehicles cannot get past them. Special recesses make it possible to link several 'dragon's teeth' together so that the enemy cannot pull them out one by one" (translation).

According to local officials and military representatives, the construction is part of the creation of the Baltic Defence Line: the ditches and concrete "dragon's teeth" are being placed on the most open stretches, the easiest for vehicles to drive through.

According to Latvian Television, the first 27 kilometres are due to be completed by next spring. The National Guard said that weather conditions will not stop the work and it will continue even in winter. The total length of Latvia's border with Russia and Belarus exceeds 450 kilometres. 303 million euros have been allocated for military fortification of the border through 2029.

In March 2024, Latvia began work to fortify its borders with Russia and Belarus after the government approved a plan. In March 2025, it closed the border to pedestrians and cyclists at the Paternieki, Grebneva and Terehova crossings.