A Front Line at the Border: How Russia Uses Migrants as Weapons Against Europe NYT - World By: Adam Goldman and Michael Schwirtz 2 October 2026 at 04:01 The scheme is part of Russiaβs larger strategy for sowing discord in the West, if more subtle than other recent operations blamed on the Kremlin. Β© Ints Kalnins/ReutersA Latvian guard patrols the border with Belarus. Migrants have streamed into Latvia, many through considerable border defenses, cutting gaps in fencing or burrowing under it.