Russia threatens Latvia at UN over drones: US fires back hard
Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya (Photo: Getty Images)
Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, during a UN Security Council meeting, again voiced fakes about the alleged preparation of drone strikes by Ukraine from the territory of Latvia and other Baltic countries, according to his statement at the UN Security Council meeting on May 19.
Nebenzya referred to claims by Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, which had already been officially refuted by Ukraine and Latvia. The Russian diplomat also threatened that NATO membership would supposedly not protect the Baltic countries from retaliatory strikes.
After the speech, Latvia's representative to the UN, Sanita Pavļuta-Deslandes, asked for the floor to respond to Russia.
She stated that Moscow is once again spreading lies and disinformation.
She said that it was pure fabrication and lies, adding that she would not waste the Council members’ time refuting the claims in detail and that they would receive a written response instead.
According to Pavļuta-Deslandes, Russia’s threats showed the Kremlin’s desperation and weakness.
She added that similar lies had previously been directed at other members of the Council during earlier meetings, and remarked that it was a great honor for her country to receive such attention that day.
Immediately after that, the Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN, Tammy Bruce, took the floor and also responded to Russia's statements.
She emphasized that the US fulfills all its obligations to its NATO allies.
"There is no place for threats against a council member. The United States keeps all of its Nato commitments," Bruce stated.
Earlier, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service claimed that Ukraine was allegedly preparing attacks on Russia from the territory of Latvia with the consent of Latvian authorities.
In Riga and Kyiv, these statements were called a fake and an element of Russian disinformation. The President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, the head of the Latvian MFA, Baiba Braže, and the spokesperson for the Ukrainian MFA, Heorhii Tykhyi, emphasized that Ukraine does not use the territory or airspace of Latvia for operations against Russia.
