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The sense of home referred to a statement by Andris Kulbergs, whom he described as the Prime Minister of Latvia: Kulbergs had stated that a strong Ukraine means a strong Europe, and that drinking less beer could save lives. The sense of home criticized the call to Europeans to drink one less beer to help Ukraine, labeling it as absurd. The author emphasized that Europeans could decide for themselves what and how much they would drink. #Europa #Ukraine #Trinken (translated)

At the EU summit in Brussels, there was a discussion on how Ukraine can survive the upcoming winter of war in the face of dwindling support from the U.S. and massive attacks by Russia on the energy infrastructure, while Latvia's Prime Minister Kulbergs suggested using Russia's frozen assets for financing and emphasized that Europeans should drink one less beer to maintain support. #UkraineHilfe #EUGipfel #Solidarität (translated)

Regina Laska wrote that Donald Trump promised hundreds of thousands of tons of Russian diesel after a phone call with Vladimir Putin. The U.S. Treasury then allowed an exemption from the sanctions. Given the midterms in four weeks and a diesel price at record levels, Laska interpreted the move as a possible campaign maneuver. In mid-September, Trump publicly called on Volodymyr Zelensky to stop attacks on Russian refineries. According to a Reuters report led by Laska, at that time three of the six largest Russian diesel refineries were shut down or operating at limited capacity. She also pointed to a Russian export ban on diesel until the end of October and noted that Russia imported almost seven times as much diesel from Belarus from January to July as in the same period of the previous year. Deputy Prime Minister Novak is now talking about surpluses, she wrote; however, it is unclear whether the announced delivery quantities and deadlines will actually be met. Zelensky offered to stop Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries if Russia ends its attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Laska referred to this as a symmetrical de-escalation offer that is on the table for the Americans. She also cited rocket attacks on a residential building in Pryluky, glide bombs on city buses in Kramatorsk, and shelling of the energy supply in Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Odesa. She warned that Russia would respond to the diesel with terrorism. The EU also criticized Laska: On September 22, Usmanov and Fridman were removed from the sanctions list under pressure from France, Slovakia, and Luxembourg. According to Laska, Zelensky pointed out that the attacks had since increased. At the same time, the EU extended the remaining personal sanctions from six months to three years. Latvia had long resisted the compromise and ultimately paved the way for it by abstaining. Laska compared Trump's diesel concession to Russia with the European compromise in favor of unanimity. In her view, the costs of such agreements are borne not by their authors but by the people in Pryluky, Kramatorsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Oleshkiv. #Trump #Putin #Dieselpreise (translated)

We must increase the pressure on the aggressor and help Ukraine bring its goods to the world market," emphasized Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda and the prime ministers Kristen Michal (Estonia) and Andris Kulbergs (Latvia). #UkrainischerKrieg #RussischeAggression #Stromversorgung (translated)

We must increase pressure on the aggressor and help Ukraine bring its goods to the global market, emphasized Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda and the prime ministers Kristen Michal (Estonia) and Andris Kulbergs (Latvia). #UkrainischerKrieg #RussischeAggression #Stromversorgung (translated)

Lars Winkelsdorf wrote that he had spoken a few months ago at a personal meeting with August Hanning about Hanning's financial situation. Hanning had brought up the topic himself. The current media coverage does not adequately represent the situation from Winkelsdorf's perspective, as it appears as an exposure of the motives behind Hanning's alleged actions. According to him, Hanning explained that he had entered the supervisory board of the Latvian PNB Bank through Anders Rasmussen. An oligarch then plundered the bank, stripping it of about 30 million euros. In a civil proceeding under Latvian law, Hanning was held liable; the judgment was later enforced in Germany, and a significant portion of his pension was garnished. Winkelsdorf described Hanning as an indirectly harmed party of criminal acts and wrote that his attempts to get out of the situation had failed. It was not about losses from risky investments but rather that Hanning had been "taken advantage of," he wrote. Rasmussen has not had to pay anything so far; Winkelsdorf added that Denmark may have better laws than Germany. https://t.co/KJQ6fW9Au0 #Finanzen #Medien #Justiz (translated)

A World Cup in Latvia? We need to be ready to play in the big league! This time I met in Riga with my friend, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and we talked about a very concrete ambition of Latvia: aiming to host the U20 World Cup together with Ukraine in the future. The way Infantino's tactic works is illustrated by a post from Latvia's Minister of Economics, Viktors Valainis (40): "A World Cup in Latvia? We need to be ready to play in the big league! This time I met in Riga with my friend, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and we talked about a very concrete ambition of Latvia: aiming to host the U20 World Cup together with Ukraine in the future." #FIFA #Uefa #Infantino (translated)

Regina Laska wrote to Alice Weidel that the Day of German Unity had been the day before and Friedrich Merz had arrived in Kyiv that morning – just hours after Moscow had warned against a stay there and announced further massive attacks. The one billion euros, according to reports, was not an additional sum but rather planned military aid. Laska stated that aid to Ukraine is often pitted against pensions, health insurance, and the cost of living. According to The Insider, Russian Telegram networks are currently spreading this narrative in Latvia as well. There, the explicitly pro-Ukrainian government won decisively the day before. Latvians live right next to Russia and not in neutral Switzerland, wrote Laska; apparently, they seem to know better which bill will ultimately be more expensive. #Deutschland #Ukraine #Politik (translated)

The parliamentary elections in Latvia confirmed the pro-Western course of the government, led by Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, who achieved a landslide victory with his party coalition, while right-wing populist parties also recorded significant gains. #LettlandWahl #Politik #Regierungspartei (translated)

HWL wrote that SVT had made a segment about how migration is used as a hybrid weapon to destabilize the EU. According to HWL, over 11,000 people had been stopped in Latvia this year, which he described as just the tip of the iceberg in Europe. HWL wondered if SVT had now realized what was happening. https://t.co/mJE8mycMic #migration #EU #hybridkrig (translated)