A Latvian border guard stands along Latvia’s border fence with neighboring Belarus in August 2023. A recent incursion into Latvian territory from Belarus has many NATO nations in eastern Europe on edge. (Shutterstock/Sergey Kuznecov)

‘Black Russian’ Sabotage Group Could Be Part of Russian Hybrid Campaign

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Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko denied that Belarus was behind the group’s incursion into Latvia—or that it had happened at all.

Black is the new green—or, to be more precise, “Black Rus” could be a new take on the “Little Green Men” that Russia employed in its takeover of Crimea in 2014.

The latter group of verdant Russian soldiers, heavily armed but lacking any military insignia, played a key role in seizing control of key infrastructure on the Crimean peninsula, enabling its annexation without major combat. Russian President Vladimir Putin initially lied about the unit’s origins, claiming they were part of a local self-defense organization; he later confirmed Russia’s military involvement, and even decorated participating officers.

Twelve years later, the Kremlin could be conducting a new type of hybrid warfare with similarly unidentified personnel.

Latvian Public Service Media (LSM) is reporting this week that a group known as “Black Russians” or “Black Rus” claimed responsibility for an incident at the Latvian-Belarusian border earlier this month. Several “masked and armed men attempted to smuggle 20 illegal migrants into the country and later damaged infrastructure.”

The Black Rus (also known as the........

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