Latvia’s police chief warned on Monday that Russian citizens who are going to vote in the presidential election at the Russian embassy in Riga on March 15-17 will have their residence permits checked and, if necessary, deported, AFP reports.

Russian citizens queuing to vote at the embassy will be monitored to avoid any attempts to glorify the war in Ukraine, Armand Ruks told TV3 Latvija.

“There will be mobile checkpoints on the streets around the embassy to check whether these Russian citizens (…) have the right to live in Latvia,” continued the police chief, whose EU and NATO member country has a significant Russian minority.

“We will also have zero tolerance for those who try to use this weekend to justify the invasion of Ukraine and the war crimes committed there,” he added.

He assured that the authorities “will not rule out immediate expulsion” if Russian voters do not have a valid residence permit.

Latvia’s immigration authorities issued deportation orders for Russians who failed to comply with new rules requiring knowledge of the Latvian language or enrollment in language courses.

This language requirement does not apply to Ukrainian refugees or EU or NATO citizens residing in Latvia.