Some time ago an image appeared on the Ukrainian segment of the Internet with the caption: “Ukraine has no brothers, but four beautiful sisters – Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland” . And in the drawing itself, five girls were depicted in the national costumes of these countries.
The cartoon was a response to repeated statements by pro-Kremlin publicists that Russia is the “big brother” in relation to the fourteen countries of -Soviet space, which, after the signing of the Belovezhskaya agreements, returned the status of state lost or won it.
At the same time, since the illegal annexation of Crimea and the occupation of part of Donbass by Russian troops, the expression “Russia is the big brother” has been used especially often in relation to Ukraine. .
As for the “four beautiful sisters”, it is true that after February 24, 2022, it was the Baltic countries and Poland that provided Ukraine with the greatest humanitarian, financial and military assistance in terms of so-called ” capital”.
In particular, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia, the total amount of aid reached 0.8% of the national GDP.
According to the rus.lsm.lv portal, “Latvia provides humanitarian aid to Ukraine, makes contributions to international organizations and plans to participate in the country’s reconstruction process. Also in collaboration with businessmen and civil society provide support to settlers from the first day of the war.
The correspondent of the Russian service media met in Riga with citizens of the Republic of Latvia who support Ukraine in word and deed.
“We bought jeeps and buses to send them to the front”
Tatyana Lazda (https://www.golosameriki.com/a/ai-latvian-help-to-ukraine/5142490.html) has lived in Latvia for many years, she is married, has two children and two grandchildren. She herself was born in the Sumy region of Ukraine, five kilometers from the border with Russia. “And when my classmates called me on the morning of February 24 last year, they said, ‘Tanya, the tanks are going through us!’
“Until February 2022, we were helping hospitals, transferring money to buy medicine. I don’t remember how much money we collected at the time, but from February to the end of December last year we were able to transfer 178,000 euros,” a member of the Caring Society told the Ukraine (in Ukrainian, “The Ukraine support association”). The money collected went, among other things, to the needs of orphanages and to help children who lost their parents as a result of Russian aggression.
In particular, Latvian Ukrainians sent humanitarian supplies to the Lviv region and helped organize children’s Christmas parties. The group, which includes Tatyana Lazda, knows Roman Sushchenko in absentia, who was in a strict regime Russian colony from 2016 to 2019 but returned to Ukraine following a prisoner of war exchange. He is now a member of the Cherkasy Regional Council and helps the Latvian Ukraine Support Society.
Since February 2024, the Society has provided all possible support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the civilian population of Ukraine – raising funds for the purchase of generators, stoves, optical devices and medical supplies. “We sent around thirty generators, at least two hundred stoves. And besides, here we bought jeeps and buses to be sent to the front. And the money for all this was given to us by ordinary people. The largest sums we received were 200 euros, and therefore – 10, 15, 20 euros were transferred to us in one go,” Tatyana Lazda said.
The money came mainly from Latvian donors, however, to support the 5th Terodedefense Volunteer Battalion of Ukraine, the transfer came from Germany, since the relatives of the donors served there.
“We have become a frontline territory”
Yana Streletsa joined the Ukraine Support Society during Euromaidan, when rallies were held near the Ukrainian Embassy in Riga. Speaking about the level of solidarity of the Latvian people with the refugees from the country subjected to Russian aggression, she notes: “At the moment, I would say that there is even a kind of ‘positive discrimination’ against Ukrainians, which, my opinion, opinion, is correct.
“Unfortunately, many people have not thought about the fact that the war in Ukraine has been going on since February 20, 2014, they seem to have woken up on February 24 last year,” says Yana Strelets.
According to her, after a large-scale invasion, many residents of Latvia realized that “creeping Russification” would not lead to good. There was even an expression: “Latvia now, like Ukraine in 2014. We have become a frontline territory. In fact, there is bilingualism in the country and, for example, at Daugavpils University there are teachers who do not speak Latvian at the correct level, so they teach their subjects in Russian. The situation is the same in Daugavpils with some doctors, even if the law obliges them to speak Latvian. “I know a person who came to Latvia when he was five years old. Today, he is in his sixties and does not know a word of Latvian. He took Russian citizenship in order to receive a Russian pension, but he does not have a Latvian passport. But now a law has been enacted that in order to obtain permanent residence you need to pass an exam in the state language, and this person has registered for language courses,” Yana said.
“It’s not enough to talk, you have to do something”
Janis Ozols works in the construction industry. He said that immediately after learning about the Russian attack on Ukraine, he decided to help the country that had been attacked. This determination was reinforced by documentary evidence of war crimes committed by the occupiers. “I wanted to stop the war as soon as possible. I think it’s not enough to talk about it, something has to be done, and Ukraine is defending itself, and that’s good,” he said.
Together with an acquaintance, Janis decided to make drone cases and even posted an advertisement on the Internet to attract as many people as possible. But it turned out that all drone parts had already been sold out for several months in advance. “Then we wrote to Ukraine that we had so many 3D printers, so many CNC machines for milling parts and we had people with welding machines. I also have a 3D printer and thought I’d help print the parts.
We thought there would be tourniquets that stop the bleeding that happens with serious injuries. But we were told that Poland produces enough of them and that “stabilizers for grenades” are needed. And from that moment we started producing them, ”said Janis Ozols in an interview with the correspondent of the Russian service media.
These devices stabilize the position of the grenade in flight after being dropped from the drone so that it does not fall sideways and fail. The stabilizer helps the grenade fall on the detonator, and upon contact with a hard surface, an explosion occurs.
At the same time, everyone who joined this project paid out of pocket for the necessary materials. Additionally, Janis and her team collected donations for Ukraine. Sometimes they buy 3D printers and other necessary items themselves and send them directly to the Ukrainian army.
According to Janis Ozols, about 150,000 grenade stabilizers have been produced since the start of work. And how many of them are made in other countries – it is difficult to calculate – they are imported directly from them.
“Now the Russian losses are more than one hundred and sixty thousand, and – silence”
Janis Ratkevich, an activist of the Ukraine Support Society, works in Latvian state structures related to information technologies. Before the war, he was an assistant to a member of the Latvian Parliament. In December 2013, he traveled to Kiev to see what is really happening in Independence Square. “I distributed pies, cookies, etc. He even wrote “State Department cookies” on the box. Later, I sent snacks there with Latvian flags and received a response: “Janis, the cookies were very tasty, but they ran out quickly, so we need more. And also send some army uniforms, boots, sleeping bags, stoves, in short – more of everything, and preferably at the same time,” laughs Ratkevich.
In fact, he and his friends sent to Ukraine everything necessary for ATO fighters for eight years, about which they say in Russia: “What did you do when? ..”.
And on the morning of February 24, 2022, he received a message from his acquaintances about the beginning of a large-scale Russian aggression against Ukraine. And already on February 26, Janis and his friends assembled the first bus with everything necessary for the Ukrainian civilian population and the Ukrainian armed forces. “The number of donations was large, and in order to legalize everything, I joined the Ukraine Support Society, which I have known since 2014. Now I am a member of the board of directors and I manage the project of the Ukraine. Latvian unit in Ukraine, which supplies our volunteers there,” the Russian media service source said.
At this point, the conversation was interrupted by a phone call. Turns out it was a Latvian Foreign Legion fighter who called to say another car had arrived with a charge for a car service. “There are already a lot of cars for the front. Of course, we need to send more, but the machines already received need to be repaired, so we send spare parts and tools. We also need more thermal imagers, and reports of what has been purchased and sent to Ukraine are regularly posted on social media so that those who donate to the Armed Forces of Ukraine know that their donations have gone to their destination”, explains the head of the Latvian Unity Project in Ukraine.
And at the end of the conversation he noted that he used to think that for Russia the loss of fifteen to twenty thousand of its military is the line after which popular unrest will begin. “And now there are more than one hundred and sixty thousand casualties, and – silence. It even surprised me a little, ”is puzzled Janis Ratkevich.
