West must arm Ukraine to prevent Russia from attacking other nations - Rinkevičs

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevičs called on Western democracies to supply more weapons to Kyiv, as the defeat of Ukraine could provoke Russia's attack on other countries.

The Latvian leader spoke in an interview with the Associated Press, Ukrinform reports.

Rinkevičs noted that "it is important to actually fight for international peace, and peace in Europe, because if we stop Russia in Ukraine, then Russia is not going to be able to challenge other countries."

According to the politician, supporting Ukraine is in NATO’s interest as it will be much easier to maintain peace in Europe if Ukraine succeeds in the war with Russia.

Rinkevičs also emphasized that Ukrainian soldiers are fighting "in a very brave way", and that the West has the responsibility to respond to the appeal by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to increase arms supplies to Ukraine “because we have not provided as much as we should have”.

He noted that Russia is mobilizing its economy, resources, and military equipment "for a very long war." The Kremlin tried to win the war quickly, but realized that it failed not, and now Moscow seeks to "strangle" Ukraine, Rinkevičs said in the interview.

In addition, Russia will reprise attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure of Ukraine in the coming months, as it did last winter, Rinkevičs believes.

In addition, the president said the EU and NATO should also prepare for the long war in Ukraine.

As reported, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he believes in the progress of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, but warned that it is also worth preparing for a long and difficult journey.