The first days of the war were the most terrifying. I remember having bought flowers for my friend’s birthday, but on the 24th of february, it seemed like a blashemy towards the Ukrainian nation walking around with beautiful flowers. Therefore my friend and I decided to bring them to the Ukrainian embassy to show our solidarity, and we joined a protest against the Russian aggression to show our anger about Russia’s agression.
That day I started making escape plans for the event of invasion of Latvia – I contacted some friends abroad and asked if I could stay with them in case of need. I was discussing with my friends, which of them in case of war would decide to stay and help however they could, and which would rather flee. This also made me myself face an ethical dillema – is it better to stay and possibly die for the country you love so much, or flee to carry the name of your country abroad and help rebuild it later? Hard choices.
Today, I have hope that NATO deterrence would prevent Russia from attacking but nobody can be certain. It would be suicide for Russia because NATO is much more powerful. But even so, the possibility that any part of Latvia might become occupied by the Russian army even for a couple of days, before NATO troops push it back, as speculated by Estonian PM Kaja Kallas, sends shivers down my spine, that what happened in Bucha might happen in my country. I can only reiterate what has been said before – Russia only understands the language of power, and that is what the allies have to show together, to prevent the war from spreading and to weaken the Russian army so it cannot continue its horrible deeds in Ukraine: raping, killing, looting, destroying, committing genocide and other war crimes.
I have to agree with Aleksandrs and Jānis, that the threat does not only come from our Eastern border, the society is at risk, too. An adolescent man was beaten by a Russian man because the young man had a Ukrainian flag around his shoulders. A taxi driver pulled a woman out of the taxi by her hair because she asked him to turn off the Russian anthem he played in the car. The Russian propaganda is working, unfortunately, and it hurts to talk to people who disrespect everything that is dear to me by supporting the war in Ukraine. I am not sure these people understand, that the Russian army doesn’t care whom they kill – supporters of Russian propaganda, or not, and in case of war, the propaganda supporters would get killed just like any other person – it’s not like the Russian authoritarian leaders would care.
The threat is real, both from the outside and within. I wish I didn’t have to read about the Ukrainian deportations, that reminds me of the deportations of Latvians during the Soviet occupation which is still in the memory of my nation and will not be forgotten. Not unlike others, I cannot believe that such events could take place in the 21st century, but I still believe in the liberal world order and hope that one day Russia might join as a democratic state that upholds the rule of law, human rights and international law, of course, only after war criminals have been brought to justice and the dues have been paid to help repair Ukraine, but even with these changes within Russia, the crimes commited in Ukraine and all the Ukrainian blood that has been spilled, can never be forgiven.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shattered many hopes for humanity, and took everybody in Latvia by surprise – nobody expected such attrocities possible in the 21st century Europe. But it has made the trans-atlantic community stronger – European countries are fulfilling their NATO commitments, by increasing military spending, Latvia is planning to introduce obligatory military service and NATO troops are arriving in the Eastern flank countries. My heart is breaking for the crimes the Russian army is committing in Ukraine and I hope every criminal responsible will be brought to justice.