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Latvia’s Foreign Minister Baiba Braže confirmed “with indignation” on Friday that a Russian attack had damaged the Baltic nation’s Honorary Consulate in the Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, killing at least six Ukrainian civilians and injuring dozens more.
“I have informed EU and NATO ministers and international organisations,” Braže said in an online statement. “Russia can destroy buildings, not Ukraine’s will and Latvia’s support.”
Latvian public broadcaster LTV Ziņu dienestsreported that Latvia’s Honorary Consul, Oleksandr Pavenko, was not harmed by the incident.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that guided aerial bombs killed half a dozen civilians on Friday, with more injured. In a statement posted on social media platform X, he said that the attack damaged “ordinary homes, the consulate building, and vehicles.”
“It is important that our partners fully understand that protecting lives also depends on them. Interceptors for Patriot systems are the number one priority,” he said.
EU and Baltic outrage
European Council President António Costa said the EU stands in full solidarity with Ukraine and Latvia. “Russia’s attack on the Latvian Honorary Consulate in Sloviansk is a grave and unacceptable act. I strongly condemn this strike, which claimed lives and left many injured,” he said in an online statement.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys denounced Russia’s actions against Ukrainian civilians and Latvia’s political infrastructure, insisting they will not “break the courage, resilience, and determination of the Ukrainian people, nor the resolve of those who stand with Ukraine”.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna called the incident a “deliberate attack” on Ukrainians and European diplomatic offices.
“These attacks will not go unanswered. Pressure will intensify, and support for Ukraine will not waver,” he added.
In August last year, Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv “severely damaged” the EU’s diplomatic offices, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stating at the time she was “outraged” by the assault, which killed at least 17 Ukrainian civilians.
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