Latvia plans to completely break off bus services with russia and Belarus, completely banning passenger and transit flights. The country's Ministry of Transport has already prepared the corresponding amendments to the rules of international transportation, citing critical threats to national security. This is reported by Delfi.
The department emphasizes that regular trips to aggressor countries create conditions for pressure and attempts to recruit Latvians by enemy special services.
Official Riga admits that such a step will cause financial losses to transport companies, but considers the restrictions to be completely justified and constitutional. This initiative is a logical continuation of the tough policy of isolation: at the beginning of 2025, Latvia banned organized tourism to the russian federation and Belarus, and in the fall of the same year, non-regular transportation was sanctioned. Now the authorities want to put an end to the issue of regular routes.
The relevance of the ban is supported by statistics: despite the war and warnings, about 74,000 Latvian citizens visited Belarus in 2024, taking advantage of the "visa-free" regime of Lukashenko. Another 24,000 people went to russia. The new rules should block these passenger flows at least until the end of October 2026, effectively eliminating the last legal possibility of mass bus trips across the border.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on May 7, two foreign drones that flew in from russia were recorded crashing in Latvia. According to the country's Air Force, the drones crossed the airspace on Thursday morning, after which the National Armed Forces (NAF), together with the police and rescuers, began work at the scene of the incidents.
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