Latvia's position on military strikes in Russia: Ambassador's perspective

Ambassador of Latvia to Ukraine Ilgvars Klava (photo: Vitalii Nosach / RBC-Ukraine)

Latvian Ambassador to Ukraine Ilgvars Klava, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, said that Latvia does not oppose Ukraine's use of Latvian weapons to strike enemy military targets on Russian territory.

As Klava noted, each partner of Ukraine that provides Kyiv with weapons has its own national interests and considerations. Riga, in turn, understands that the legitimate military objectives of Russian terrorists remain military objectives.

"We have not seen Ukraine deliberately targeting civilian housing, apartments, or something like that in Russia, as Russians do deliberately in cities in Kharkiv, Odesa, and everywhere, all over Ukraine. So then to say to Ukraine: no, no, you don't do that, this is bad, you don't attack this, or you don't attack that… A military target is a military target. If the country of Russia is at war with the country of Ukraine, so if it's a legitimate military target, it can be hit," he added.

Restrictions on strikes on Russian territory

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, Ukraine's allies have been actively supporting Kyiv with weapons. At the same time, there was a condition that weapons could not be used against targets on Russian territory. Amid the enemy offensive that began in early May, as well as the brutal shelling of the border regions, a number of Western partners decided to reconsider their decision.

RBC-Ukraine has been reporting on which countries have given the green light to use their weapons against enemy military targets on Russian territory.