Latvians complained about NATO military exercises: soldiers scare old people and children

“Namejs 2023” will be remembered for a lost drone, shootings in cities and large traffic jams

Military exercises “Namejs 2023” continue in Latvia, which take place near the Russian-Latvian border. The exercise was organized by NATO, ostensibly to test and improve Latvia’s collective defense plans. There were some unpleasant incidents: for example, the military lost a “drone” that presumably could have flown into Russian territory. But the most surprising thing in this story is the disdain with which the Latvian leadership treats its own citizens, for whom military training taking place right in the cities has turned into a huge headache.

NATO military exercises in Latvia will take place until October 2. About 8,500 people take part in them and they will be remembered not only for the lost unmanned vehicle, in search of which the Latvian authorities even turned to ordinary mushroom pickers and villagers for help, but also for the huge traffic collapse on the roads.

During the exercise, soldiers block roads, causing huge traffic jams. Latvian motorists, experiencing constant stress, massively post videos on social networks of military equipment standing right in the traffic lane.

“These military exercises “Nameis” on the border with Russia and Belarus are simply a mockery of people,” Latvian resident Anna complained to Moskovsky Komsomolets, “it’s incredibly difficult for all Latvians. For example, the highway that goes to Latgale is partially blocked. There is total control there. They check documents, search the car, and do a full search. Yesterday, such a situation happened not far from the border with Russia on the Grebnevo-Ubylinka section. They stretched a metal wire, blocked the road and did not allow cars to go in one direction or the other.”

It is not only motorists who suffer from the actions of the military. Exercises traditionally take place in populated areas. For example, in 2021 they took place right in the center of Riga. The Latvian Ministry of Defense noted that the exercises were carried out with maximum compliance with safety rules, and local residents were informed about this, but such a disregardful attitude caused considerable irritation among the Latvians.

“For many people, especially children and pensioners, this is terrible stress, because the exercises are taking place right in the city and soldiers are walking along the streets. Somewhere they walk, somewhere they run, sometimes they even shoot with blank cartridges. And the exercises last both day and night. In my understanding, this is intimidation of people, or they are accustomed to times when fighting takes place on the street. Recently, our exercises have been taking place in cities. We were in Riga last year, this year in Ludza, Krasavitsa, Rezikne and other cities, but not in the forests. And these cities border on Russia and the Republic of Belarus. It all started in 2021, when the first exercises took place, and since then they have been held every year.”

— And how do people react to what is happening?

“Not only most Russians, but also Latvians have an extremely negative attitude towards this, people are angry because the soldiers are scaring children. But there are also a small number of narrow-minded people who believe that we should endure all these inconveniences, because this is supposedly a guarantee of our safety.