Latvia

The European Union is hesitant to attend Vladimir Putin's inauguration ceremony, but EU High Representative Josep Borrell opposes the EU's participation in the event.

Germany plans to deploy a permanent brigade to Lithuania to strengthen NATO's eastern defense. The deployment of the German brigade in the Baltic country is "in full swing.

Ukraine calls on the world not to recognize Vladimir Putin as the legitimate president of Russia due to the undemocratic nature of the recent elections and Russia's ongoing aggression against Ukraine.

Germany will not send representatives to the inauguration of Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 7. Berlin emphasizes that the elections in Russia did not meet democratic standards.

If elected president, Trump plans to demand that NATO allies increase defense spending to 3% of GDP, excluding aid to Ukraine.

NATO condemns Russia's hybrid actions against Allies and will respond to such attacks individually and collectively, while continuing to support Ukraine.

Latvia announces a new military aid package for Ukraine, including reconnaissance drones and short-range anti-aircraft guns.

Over the weekend, Baltic ministers warned of the risk of an air disaster due to GPS jamming blamed on Russia, after two Finnish flights were forced to turn around midway due to interference with navigation signals.

Latvia has started building anti-tank ditches near its eastern border as part of the Baltic Defense Line to deter potential military threats.

Latvia has donated a 250 MVA transformer, compressor, and transformer oil to Ukraine to help supply power and heat critical infrastructure after the russian missile attacks.

Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met in Kyiv with Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže to discuss further support for Ukraine, including military assistance, EU and NATO integration, increased sanctions against Russia, and confiscation of Russian assets.

EU agriculture ministers plan to increase the maximum amount of minimum state aid to €50,000 per farm for three years to support the agricultural sector amid ongoing market turmoil.

Ukraine and Latvia discussed increasing joint production of drones.

Four people have been detained in Georgia for stealing rare 19th century books worth hundreds of thousands of euros from libraries across Europe as part of an organized criminal group.

Ukraine and Portugal start negotiations on a bilateral security agreement.

The Drone Coalition, initiated by Latvia, has raised almost 500 million euros for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In particular, Denmark and the Netherlands have already announced the purchase of 400 million euros worth of drones.

France has proposed new EU sanctions against Russian disinformation operations and election interference around the world.

In Riga, the authorities urged citizens to clean out basements and adapt them as shelters for civil defense purposes.

Heavy snowfalls and blizzards have caused difficult driving conditions on major highways across Latvia, with snow cover on the roads and anti-slip materials being used.

EU allies insist on maintaining strong support for Ukraine after the US approves a $61 billion aid package.

Latvia plans to gradually replace Russian as a second foreign language in schools with one of the official languages of the European Union starting in the 2026/2027 school year.

Ukraine is nearing the signing of a major security agreement with the United States that will be a strong security guarantee alongside agreements with Nordic countries such as Sweden and Norway in May-June, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The documentary In Search of Nika, about Russia's crimes against animals during its invasion of Ukraine, premiered on April 19 and will be available on YouTube in Ukraine.

The speakers of the Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian parliaments called on the U. S. Congress to approve a new military aid package for Ukraine, emphasizing that the support provided to Ukraine is an investment in a common secure future and is crucial at this critical time.

Ukraine's U-19 national team will meet Northern Ireland, Norway and Italy in Group A of the 2024 European Championship final tournament, which will take place in Northern Ireland from July 15 to 28.

Yermak held a working meeting to discuss the main elements of a future security agreement with the United States, including the strengths of existing agreements and actions to be taken after the US Congress decides to provide military assistance to Ukraine.

Latvia will send the first batch of drones produced by its military industry to support Ukraine.

At the extraordinary meeting, international partners promised to start supplying Ukraine with various modifications of drones, including Canada will provide 450 SkyRanger UAVs, Lithuania will allocate funds for the production of FPV drones, the Netherlands will sign contracts with Denmark and Germany for the supply of Heidrun RQ-35 drones.

At the meeting with the Baltic ministers, Ukraine's Interior Minister discussed security issues such as attacks on infrastructure, mining, migration, arms trafficking, and protecting schools, while the partners viewed the destruction caused by the Russian invasion using virtual reality and pledged support in the form of funds, equipment, training, and reconstruction efforts until Ukraine's victory.

President Zelenskyy announced that Germany would provide Ukraine with an additional Patriot air defense system, and that work is underway to obtain an additional IRIS-T system and missiles for existing air defense systems from Germany.