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On 23 February 2026, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Artjoms Uršuļskis, participating in the European Union (EU) Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, emphasised:
“24 February marks four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Latvia’s support for Ukraine remains unwavering. Russia continues to destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with the aim of causing a humanitarian catastrophe in the country and affecting its ability to ensure the safety and resilience of its people in the harsh winter conditions. It is therefore essential to step up international support for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure sector in response to its critical needs. The EU must continue to implement its “peace through strength” strategy, increase financial and military support to Ukraine, maintain pressure on Russia, and strengthen our own European security.”
The meeting was attended remotely by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, who provided information on the current situation in Ukraine, in particular, on the emergency situation in the energy sector.
Artjoms Uršuļskis expressed his satisfaction with the additional sanctions against Russia’s human rights regime approved at the meeting, targeting eight individuals, judicial authorities and prison officials involved in repressions against civil society in Russia.
With regard to further military support to Ukraine, Artjoms Uršuļskis called on EU Member States to continue to provide timely, predictable, and needs-based support to Ukraine. In 2025, Latvia’s military support to Ukraine reached almost 0.3% of GDP, covering the supply of armaments, training of Ukrainian soldiers, contributions to the Drone Coalition, financial investment in Ukraine’s military industry for drone production, and contributions to NATO’s PURL initiative (Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List). Last week, the Government of Latvia decided to allocate an additional EUR 10 million to NATO’s PURL initiative. In support of Ukraine’s energy sector, Latvia has provided solar panels and related equipment, generators, transformers, transformer oil, and other necessary support, as well as contributions to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund totalling EUR 617 000 to date.
Artjoms Uršuļskis emphasised that until peace is achieved and even afterwards, work on implementing security guarantees for Ukraine is critically important. He noted that Latvia is also ready to continue providing support after the war to strengthen Ukraine’s security. Ukraine’s accession to the European Union is a vital EU security guarantee. The EU’s sanctions against Russia play an indispensable role in supporting Ukraine. The Parliamentary Secretary pointed out that it is important to approve the new sanctions as quickly as possible, as they include several significant measures to restrict Russia, including action against Russian shadow fleet vessels, against a significant number of natural and legal persons for their involvement in circumventing sanctions or in Russia’s military-industrial sector, several new export and import restrictions, further sanctions in the financial sector, and measures to further align sanctions against Belarus with those imposed on Russia.
Discussing the situation in the Middle East and the EU’s role in implementing the Gaza peace plan, Artjoms Uršuļskis pointed out that it is important for the EU to be represented and involved in the reconstruction of Gaza. The meeting was also attended by the High Representative for Gaza in the Executive Committee of the Board of Peace, Nickolay Mladenov, who presented the latest developments in the Board’s work.
At the initiative of EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, Ministers also held an informal exchange of views on the EU’s resilience to foreign information manipulation and interference.