DAUGAVPILS, Latvia -- Canadian soldiers in eastern Latvia, just 50 kilometres from the Russian border are training to get comfortable in the chaos. Inside the charred remains of a Soviet-era school, a battle battalion made up of more than a dozen Canadians is conducting a close-quarter battle (CQB) training exercise, in lockstep with a group of Italian soldiers. Two countries, both part of the same NATO brigade. As the sound of gunfire echoes along the abandoned school’s concrete walls, the multinational battalions sweep through multiple floors, securing the building in a simulated combat scenario. “An actual clearing like this (of a building) would include a lot of casualties and medevacs. It’s one of the most dangerous things we can conduct on any given day during an actual combat mission,” said a master corporal who spoke to CTV News during the training operation. While embedded with NATO soldiers, CTV National News was asked to withhold the names of infantry members to protect their identities. The master corporal helping command the CQB exercise said training days like this in a highly charged environment are invaluable. “If this (close quarter battle) was to happen in a real war scenario, we have to be ready because what we will be doing is so dangerous,” he said. For nearly a decade, Canadian troops have led NATO’s multinational mission in Latvia. However, this week marked a significant shift: the alliance’s entire brigade – 2,000 of whom are Canadian – has been deployed close to the borders of Russia and Belarus. This marks the first time the entire brigade has mobilized to Latvia’s eastern border, arriving at a time of heightened tensions in eastern Europe. Latvia along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south, makes up NATO’s eastern flank. CTV News is embedded with NATO troops near the city of Daugavpils, which is 30 km from the border of Belarus and 50 km from the Russian border. Nearly 50 per cent of Daugavpils’ population is ethnic Russian, creating a complex region with differing political views. The city’s mayor, who was unavailable to speak to CTV News has been painted as pro-Russian by some Eastern European media. Multiple reports allege he refused to fly the Ukrainian flag at city hall following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. A Canadian Armed Forces lieutenant who spoke to CTV News said he and some of the other NATO soldiers operating in Daugavpils have experienced friction from area residents. “Some people are more receptive than others to our presence here,” the lieutenant said. “Some have shouted insults at us but others have welcomed us with open arms.” While working to connect with the community, the lieutenant, whose name CTV News has been asked not to publish, has been tracking drone activity and potential incursions near NATO training areas in eastern Latvia. At times they’re civilian drones, other times they could be military drones,” he said. “Sometimes the drones are flying overhead taking pictures, (of us) as they go low and then go high as well.” It is an operational reality in this region, Latvia is now home to the largest number of Canadian Armed Forces members abroad. On this day, the Canadian-led NATO brigade is projecting a show of force, hoping to deter any looming threat to the east.
