Latvia intends to supply weapons to Ukraine
Amid growing threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, Latvia will provide Kyiv with military equipment. Riga is ready to "supply lethal and non-lethal products" to Kyiv, said Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks at a press conference in the Latvian capital on Wednesday, January 19. What kind of weapons Ukraine will receive will be made public only after their delivery. At the same time, Latvia is not considering the possibility of sending its servicemen to Ukraine, Pabriks said.
Pabriks criticized the restraint of a number of EU countries in providing Defense Assistance to Ukraine. "I am very sorry that there are several European countries that, for various reasons, are not ready for this. I don't think it's right," Artis Pabriks added.
Germany is one of the countries that refuses to supply weapons to Ukraine. Members of Germany's new government coalition have repeatedly denied the possibility of supplying weapons to Ukraine or have spoken with restraint about such a decision. On January 17, during a visit to Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock once again rejected Kyiv’s requests for weapons supplies. "The position of the German government on arms supplies, given our restrictive policy of arms exports, is known, and this is also explained by our history," she said.
According to the Western media, there are currently more than 100,000 Russian troops near the border with Ukraine and in the annexed Crimea. The United States, Germany and other countries are calling on Russia to withdraw troops from the Ukrainian border and threatening the Kremlin with harsh sanctions in the event of the Russian invasion. In turn, Moscow denies preparations for a new invasion and calls on the United States and NATO to provide "security guarantees", demanding the reduction of American troops and weapons in Europe and the rejection of further expansion of NATO to the east.
talks between the U.S. and Russia in Geneva, at the NATO-Russia Council, and at the OSCE ended inconclusively last week. On January 19, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Kyiv and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. On January 20, he will hold talks in Berlin with colleagues from Germany, France, and the UK. And two days later he is scheduled to meet in Geneva with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.