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The NATO state of Latvia is installing concrete “dragon’s teeth” and digging anti-tank trenches along its eastern border as it continues to strengthen its defenses against Russia.
These “dragon teeth,” which will act as obstacles that slow enemy vehicles, are one of the latest additions to the Baltic Defense Line, a joint initiative agreed by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in January 2024, according to Latvian public broadcaster LSM. Each “dragon’s tooth,” arranged in rows, weighs about 3,300 pounds and stands just over 3 feet 3 inches tall.
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Europe has been gearing up its defenses since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troops invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but concerns that Russia could target the Baltic states have been growing recently. Last month, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament that intelligence assessments suggested Russia plans to attack NATO territory with drones or missiles, while CIA Director John Ratcliffe flew to Moscow the month before to warn against escalating the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied such reports, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissing them as “scare-story material” in August, saying it “has nothing to do with reality and nothing to do with the intentions of the Russian Federation.”
It comes as this week has seen the first direct discussions between representatives of Moscow and Kyiv in nine months, with Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner brokering two days of talks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that ended on Wednesday. They met with Putin in Moscow on Thursday before heading to Dublin, Ireland, for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Citing a Russian delegation source, Reuters reported on Tuesday that Moscow wants the U.S.-brokered peace talks to cover its post-war security relationship with Europe, not just peace in Ukraine.
How ‘Dragon’s Teeth’ Work
The combination of the “dragon’s teeth” concrete obstacles with anti-tank trenches is designed to make it difficult for an enemy vehicle to cross the border.
Enemies would need different types of equipment to cross the anti-tank trench and separate equipment to get past the “dragon’s teeth,” said Staff Sergeant Edgars Briedis of the Engineer Company, 2nd Vidzeme Brigade of the National Guard.
“These obstacles are positioned at such a distance that the enemy cannot cross them with their vehicles,” Briedis said. “These holes are designed to link several ‘dragon’s teeth’ together, so that the enemy would be unable to pull them out individually.”
Around 3.1 miles of dragon’s teeth have been installed along Latvia’s eastern border and roughly 2.5 miles of trenches excavated as of last week, LSM reports.
At a border location in the Balvi municipality, three rows of “dragon teeth” had been installed, with a trench slightly more than 6.5 feet deep planned next. Elsewhere in Balvi, trenches more than 16 feet wide have already been dug, ready for “dragon’s teeth.”
But most of the construction work still needs to take place, with plans to continue building into the winter.
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US-Brokered Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks: The Latest
This week’s talks in the UAE’s Abu Dhabi produced no major breakthrough, aside from an agreement to swap a large number of prisoners, with the exact figure still to be announced.
The Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi “agreed on many of the principles, but are still apart on some of the way to accomplish” peace, Kushner said in Moscow.
Kushner said one of the goals of the meeting with Putin was to get the Russian leader’s blessing for European representatives to be part of the talks, which are looking at the continent’s broader security arrangements.
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The U.S. and Zelensky want Europe to appoint a single person to negotiate with Moscow, but the Kremlin doesn’t want European countries involved in the direct negotiations, arguing they are financing and supplying Ukraine’s military effort.
Arguing for the negotiation of Moscow’s post-war relationship with Europe to be part of these talks, the Russian delegation source quoted by Reuters said: "The Ukrainian settlement, while it is a matter of critical importance, is just one aspect of this wide-ranging discussion and is subordinate to the main objective — the creation of a comprehensive and indivisible security architecture for the entire continent.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that wider European security talks should only start once a ceasefire has been achieved in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Axios has reported that the U.S. has asked Russia to submit its proposal for a future security agreement with Europe, citing “two sources with knowledge of the matter.”
Kushner said at a press conference on Wednesday: “We told the Russians, they have their desires and fears, but they have to provide different de-escalation and different proposals as well, if they want Europe to be able to receive those proposals in a good way.”
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Henry Holloway, Gray R. Thomas
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