- Thread starter
- #301
Here in Latvia anxieties are definitely higher than normal. People have already started talking about where they would go if they have to leave the country. Its a bit knee-jerk, sure, but what's happening in Ukraine is being taken very much to heart in all the Baltic countries.
I'm located in one of the smaller cities to the north of Riga. Fliers have started appearing in the windows of buildings with a phone number for Ukrainian's needing help, can call. A call has gone out to locals looking for people with spare beds or properties. Though there's no fighting here, its making everything a lot more real than for countries further west.
People are overlooking the fact that Russian forces setting foot in any Baltic state is a far different prospect for the entire planet than them going into Ukraine. Putin wants the Baltics, there's no doubt about that, but all 3 states are NATO members, and given that he's struggling with Ukraine, taking on the entirety of NATO might be something he'll think twice about.
People down near Riga are the most panicked. They are seeing military activity on the streets there, as thats where the main NATO base is located. Canada have long-standing diplomatic ties with Latvia so they've been sending in a lot of troops. A load arrived from America at the weekend too so I guess its all starting to feel very busy down there.
I was talking to a Latvian friend yesterday. My language teacher, actually. She lives in Scotland and her boyfriend is an English, Russian translator. He's in Moscow and, because her family are beside the NATO base, they're in a complete panic. He's booked on a flight to Uzbekistan today, and hopefully onwards to London the following day.
I'm located in one of the smaller cities to the north of Riga. Fliers have started appearing in the windows of buildings with a phone number for Ukrainian's needing help, can call. A call has gone out to locals looking for people with spare beds or properties. Though there's no fighting here, its making everything a lot more real than for countries further west.
People are overlooking the fact that Russian forces setting foot in any Baltic state is a far different prospect for the entire planet than them going into Ukraine. Putin wants the Baltics, there's no doubt about that, but all 3 states are NATO members, and given that he's struggling with Ukraine, taking on the entirety of NATO might be something he'll think twice about.
People down near Riga are the most panicked. They are seeing military activity on the streets there, as thats where the main NATO base is located. Canada have long-standing diplomatic ties with Latvia so they've been sending in a lot of troops. A load arrived from America at the weekend too so I guess its all starting to feel very busy down there.
I was talking to a Latvian friend yesterday. My language teacher, actually. She lives in Scotland and her boyfriend is an English, Russian translator. He's in Moscow and, because her family are beside the NATO base, they're in a complete panic. He's booked on a flight to Uzbekistan today, and hopefully onwards to London the following day.
