Latvian president visits village of Yahidne in Chernihiv region

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics began his visit to Ukraine with a trip to the village of Yahidne in Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region, where Russian troops kept local residents in the basement for a month during the occupation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this at a joint press conference with his Latvian counterpart in Kyiv on Friday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"I want to thank you for starting this visit with a trip to the village of Yahidne in the Chernihiv region. In this village, during the Russian occupation in 2022, a concentration camp was actually formed. The occupiers kept all the residents of the village in the basement of an ordinary school for more than three weeks. Ten people died in that basement," Zelensky said.

He added that Rinkevics had also visited Chernihiv. In this context, Zelensky said that he had discussed with his Latvian colleague the intensification of joint efforts for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

"I noted that there is potential for cooperation in the energy sector. We also need help in rebuilding medical infrastructure, schools, [equipping] bomb shelters for educational infrastructure," Zelensky added.

According to the Chernihiv regional military administration, Rinkevics said that Latvia plans to allocate EUR 15 million for the Chernihiv region over the next three years.

"The Republic of Latvia plans [to allocate] 15 million euros for the Chernihiv region within the next three years. This was announced by the President of the Republic of Latvia, Edgars Rinkevics, during his visit to the region," the report said.

It also added that Latvia had identified the Chernihiv region as a priority region for further cooperation.