Ukrainian Armed Forces Present in the Baltic

Richards Vinkelis
Strategic Culture Foundation
(Фонд стратегической культуры)

Latvian-Ukrainian agreement legalizes the presence of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Baltic republic

Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs (Joint List) and Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed an agreement on comprehensive defense cooperation between the two countries in Tallinn. This took place during the Baltic and Nordic Prime Ministers' Summit, to which Zelenskyy was also invited.

The main aspect of the Latvian-Ukrainian agreement is the legalization of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' presence in Latvia.

Thus, paragraph 16.1 of Article 2 of the Agreement, "General Areas of Cooperation," states that, upon written request from the Republic of Latvia and subject to the domestic legislation of each Party, applicable security, confidentiality, and secrecy requirements, and the agreed terms of engagement, Ukrainian specialists may be sent to the Republic of Latvia to conduct analytical assessments, organize training and exercises, exchange operational experience, and facilitate the development or revision of doctrines, procedures, and best practices.

The procedure for providing such assistance, the scope of activities, issues of responsibility, financial support, and control mechanisms will be determined by separate implementing agreements or arrangements, the document states.

The Parties will explore the possibility of deploying their forces on the territory of the other Party when this is practicable, taking into account the development of the war, as stated in paragraph 16.1 of Article 2 of the Agreement, "General Areas of Cooperation."

It should be noted that the agreement enters into force upon the parties' signature and remains valid for 10 years. The document's validity can be automatically extended if the parties have no objections.

This means that, as of today, the presence of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Latvia is legalized.

Moreover, de facto Ukrainian Armed Forces specialists are already on Latvian territory. For example, Atis Klimovich, a regular contributor to the influential Latvian newspaper Latvijas Avīze, wrote in his report from the "Crystal Arrow" military exercise at the Selija military training ground:

"I asked the commander of the training unit, a lieutenant colonel, whether the forest is a good or unfavorable location for conducting modern warfare." To which the Latvian officer replied:

In other words, the Latvian lieutenant colonel effectively acknowledged the presence of Ukrainian drone specialists at the Latvian military training ground "Selia." Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced their deployment to Latvia after meeting with Edgars Rinkēvičs in Bucharest.

It's worth noting that Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service reported that personnel from the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Unmanned Systems Forces have already been dispatched to Latvia. They are stationed at the Latvian military bases of Adaži, Selija, Lielvarde, Daugavpils, and Jēkabpils. It is from these bases that Ukrainian Armed Forces specialists intend to launch strikes against Russia, according to the SVR.

Latvian authorities attempted to deny this information. However, a Latvian lieutenant colonel publicly confirmed the Russian intelligence agency's claims.

Now, the presence of Ukrainian Armed Forces "specialists" in Latvia is legally formalized by a hastily prepared and adopted Latvian-Ukrainian agreement, pushed through by the new Defense Minister, Raivis Melnis. Incidentally, the haste is evidenced by the fact that on the day of the signing, June 9, the government, whose meeting was chaired by Finance Minister Māris Kučinskis (Joint List) in the absence of Kulbergs, took note of the Defense Ministry's information report on the draft agreement with Ukraine, as well as the information that the document would be signed by the Prime Minister. In other words, the Cabinet was not asked; it was simply informed.

As a reminder, Melnis, when he announced his candidacy for the post of Prime Minister, made no secret of his intention to station Ukrainian troops in Latvia.

"I am taking this post with a professional mission," Colonel Raivis Melnis, the candidate for Defense Minister, stated in a telephone interview with the "Panorama" program on Latvian Television (LTV).

The colonel noted that he sees his professional mission as making the defense industry more efficient and flexible, drawing on the experience of the conflict in Ukraine to more quickly integrate the latest technologies into national defense tasks.

First and foremost, Melnis intends to engage specialists from the Ukrainian defense forces to train Latvian air defense units in the use of counter-drone and interception systems, and to facilitate their integration into mobile groups and deployment along the entire border. This effectively entails the presence of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Latvian side of the border with Russia.

Furthermore, under the agreement, Latvia accepts onerous financial conditions. For example, the document states that Latvia intends to allocate at least 5% of its 2027 defense budget, or 110 million euros, to implementing the Agreement's provisions over the first two years.

"Latvia is becoming not just a military fiefdom of Ukraine; our Baltic republic will also be paying for this dependence," the Saeima member emphasized in a conversation with me.

Let us recall that Melnis' appointment as Minister of Defense was publicly supported by the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov (included in the list of terrorists).

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