Contents tagged with Latvia
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USA deploys more than a dozen combat helicopters in Latvia
As part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, thirteen UH-60 Black Hawk and HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters have been deployed in Latvia to strengthen security in the region, reported the Latvian Defense Ministry. The helicopters were deployed at a National Armed Forces airbase in Lielvārde.
Also, about 150 US military serving in the 3rd Battalion of the First Aviation Brigade have arrived in the country for 9 months rotation. The US personnel will maintain the helicopters and will train the Latvians …
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Latvia bans broadcasts of channel RTR-Russia for inciting hatred towards Ukrainians
The National Electronic Mass Media Council of Latvia or NEPLP has restricted the Russian television channel RTR-Russia from broadcasting in the country for three months. As Latvian news agency Leta reports, Latvian authorities found incitement to hatred toward Ukrainians was found in their programs.
The agency found hate speech against the Ukrainian government in the program “Evening with Vladimir Solovyov” dated May 22. In the program “60 Minutes” aired on January 11, 2018, the leader of the …
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Latvia detects Russian reconnaissance ship in its territorial waters
The Latvian National Armed Forces reported on Twitter that a Russian reconnaissance ship was spotted in the exclusive economic zone of Latvia. “On December 25, we found the Russian reconnaissance ship named Yuri Ivanov in the exclusive economic zone of Latvia at six nautical miles from the border.”
Russian warships and aircraft have been increasingly seen and recorded close to the air and sea borders of the Baltic States since the start of the conflict in Ukraine and the aggravation of …
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Russian money-laundering scandal puts Latvia on verge of financial catastrophe
After becoming one of the primary “laundromats” for laundering shady capital from Russia, the Latvian banking system is now facing the threat of international isolation.
Due the scandal surrounding the country’s second largest bank, ABLV, which was caught transferring billions of dollars from Russia and former Soviet states into offshore accounts, Latvia risks being blacklisted by the FATF, observed the US ambassador to the country, Andris Teikmanis.
This blacklist includes governments that …
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Latvia publishes list of KGB agents
On December 20th, The National Archives of Latvia opened access to the KGB archives containing lists of agents of the Soviet special services.
The files in PDF format can be found at kgb.arhivi.lv.
The files of KGB agents in the Latvian USSR (a total of 10,612 files) have been published in alphabetical order. The archive includes the names of both active agents in the late 1980s and the excluded ones.
In this archive, there is also general information, which was entered by the First …
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Baltic states agreed to increase their defense budgets
Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia intend to increase their defense budgets to more than 2 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. The Defense Ministers of the three countries agreed to this in their joint communique after the meeting in Vilnius on Saturday, November 24. DW reports that the document envisions cooperation in strategic communication between the Baltic States and Poland, and increasing the cyber security of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
During the two-day meeting that took place in …
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Latvia condemns the blockade of the Azov Sea by Russia
The blockade of the Azov Sea is another proof of Russia's consistent destructive regional policy. Russia continues aggression in the Donbas and does nothing to de-escalate the conflict, said Latvian President Raimonds Vējonis at a joint briefing with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kyiv, Ukrinform reported.
"Latvia strongly condemns Russian aggression in Donbas. Unfortunately, Moscow does not take any steps to de-escalate the conflict. The blockade of the Sea of Azov is another proof …
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Latvia intends to open a consulate in the Donetsk region
Latvia plans to open a consulate in the Donetsk region, stated Donetsk Governor Oleksandr Kuts following a meeting between the Parliamentary Secretary at The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Latvia and the leadership of the Donetsk regional state administration.
Representatives of the National Guard and National Armed Forces of Latvia that were part of the delegation said that they came to learn from Ukraine’s managerial and military experience gained from years of resistance to Russian …
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Latvia detects Russian warship near its shores
The Latvian National Armed Forces reported that on Saturday, November 3, a Russian warship was spotted in the exclusive economic zone of Latvia. "On November 3, in the Latvian exclusive economic zone at a distance of 13 nautical miles from the territorial waters, the Latvian Naval Forces have identified an support ship of the SS-750 class Kashtan submarine of the Russian Armed Forces”, stated the report.
This is not the first such case. In October, the Russian Federation warship of the …
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Latvia accuses Russia of cyber attacks
Latvia’s Constitution Protection Bureau reported that Russian military intelligence service GRU has attempted to gain access to the Latvian government's information using phishing attacks against their computer networks.
"The cyber attacks in Latvia were carried out by the GRU for the espionage purposes. The most frequent attacks were directed against state institutions, including the defense and foreign affairs sectors," said the statement.
Less commonly, the GRU attacks were aimed at the …