well, my guest today is latvia's prime minister, kristjanis karins. just how vulnerable is latvia?rime minister kristjanis karins, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. vladimir putin's invasion of ukraine happened six months ago. right now, here in latvia, has that war raised the level of fear to new heights? what the war has done has raised the level of mobilisation. so the first effect was the mobilisation from the grassroots, people rallying to the support of ukraine citizens, ordinary people coming together, asking, "what can we do to help ukraine?" and we've had a mass outpouring of... we have communities making camouflage nets, we have people providing medications, companies donating all sorts of vehicles, donating all sorts of humanitarian aid, blankets, you name it, that has been going on. people donating cash — and not very wealthy people, ordinary people. so we've had a massive mobilisation of society, because we here in latvia very well understand that the ukrainians are, in a sense, fighting our war. they are fighting against russian imperialism. right now, it happens to be

no russians to enter latvia?ns, and we only issue on an exceptional basis, i think what you call humanitarian visas. there are some who have received that permit, but the general rule is no visas. the german chancellor scholz says that's a fundamental mistake. he says, "this is not a war on the russian people. "it is putin's war. "it is important for us to understand there are a lot "of people fleeing from russia because they fundamentally disagree "with the russian regime." you really want to lock them out of getting a safe haven in latvia? once again, it's important to distinguish a tourist visa from a humanitarian visa. we are accepting, on an exceptional basis, russian citizens who are indeed fleeing the putin regime. we have, in latvia, we're actually hosting many news services, russian edition, including the bbc�*s, and many others — the former independent russian media, which is banned in moscow, is alive in latvia and reporting back into russia. so, of course, you always find a way to let that which would

today latvia is a target of russian disinformation. attempt to distort reality here by spreading fake news to sow doubt, confusion. russia's objective, to discredit a new european democracy on its border. and here is one example of what appears to be russian disinformation. this website is called baltnews. it is in russian, it is aimed at ethnic russians across the baltic but it is part of a news organisation which is bankrolled by the kremlin. what kind of stories does it put out? here is one. listen to this. among latvians, it says, adolf hitler is more popular than harry potter. hitler's mein kampf tops readers‘ book choice in latvia. astonishing. so the impression you get when you read this is that in latvia in an eu country nazi ideology is thriving. and this story was picked up and republished by a whole string of other news sites. but is it really true? i'm off to investigate. my first stop is latvia's largest book—seller. harry is here. but i can't find hitler. perhaps the company director can help me. how many copies of mein k

well, latvia... we are talking about the americans.sh, the french and, of course, the germans, who won't even give their taurus long—range missiles to the ukrainians. but those key countries, as yet, have not lifted constraints upon use of their long—range missiles. well... what do you say to the ukrainians when they say, "we have to get this authorisation"? absolutely, what we say to ukrainians is, first of all, not only say we supply ukrainians with equipment and also with drones, which have reach as well. at the same time, of course, what we say that we will do all our best also to convince our partners, to advocate that exactly — that all weaponry, all equipment could and should be used also against aggressor country and territory in self—defence of ukraine. and on that basis, minister, i have to be frank with you — you are failing. your persuasive efforts are not working with your allies, in particular the americans. why not? no, i don't think so that we are failing. of course, it's a continuous process. we have to take into accou

well, my guest is latvia's defence minister, andris spruds.h the stakes rising, what can ukraine expect from its friends? andris spruds, welcome to hardtalk. thank you for having me. it is a pleasure to have you. now you are defence minister in a baltic nation, which is one of ukraine's strongest supporters inside the eu and nato. so what do you make of ukraine's risky gambit, this offensive inside russian territory? it was just recently in ukraine, and what i see in ukraine, it's a resolve. it's a determination. it's a resilience. it's a willingness also to take initiative. and what we've seen right now is that ukraine is in a position to take this initiative, that it shows also that the war, of course, is a war of wills, the war of the mindsets. and here, we can see that ukraine also shows and proves that russia has its vulnerabilities. but did you, in kyiv, also get a sense of deep ukrainian frustration with its allies? because it's become clear in the last couple of weeks that ukraine didn't feel able to share any information about this su

latvia does not _ aggressor territory. latvia does not provide - aggressor territory. - aggressor territory. latvia . does not provide the missiles which could strike deep inside russia. we're talking about the and the british, the french, and the british, the french, and the british, the french, and the germans who will not even give their tourists long—range missiles to the ukrainians. these key countries have not lifted constraints upon use of their long—range missiles. what do you say to the ukrainians when they see we have to get this authorisation? absolutely what we say to them is not only do we supply ukrainians with equipment and drones which have a reach as well and at the same time what well and at the same time what we see that we will do to convince our partners to advocate, all weaponry, all equipment could and should be using is the aggressor country in self—defence. fin using is the aggressor country in self-defence.— in self-defence. on that basis i have to _ in self-defence. on that basis i have to be — in self-defence. on that basis i have to be frank

you are you concerned similar terms are under way in latvia?— under way in latvia?, as _ under way in latvia? you know, i think my country, as well- under way in latvia? you know, i | think my country, as well as other baltic states, are being under continuous russian pressure, even before the full—scale war started in 2022 or even before the crimea occupation into any ia. we were always under some kind of propaganda warfare, undersome always under some kind of propaganda warfare, under some kind of attempts to meddle in our internal politics, and to some extent, yes, there is always concern. we are rather... the intelligence, with social media, that kind of influence meddling is changing, but i would say that so far, we have been able to tackle some of those attempts to influence our internal politics, but i would say that we always have to be very, very cautious when you speak about ability of russia to cause some trouble. ., ., , , ability of russia to cause some trouble. . . . , . , ~ trouble. yeah, as they did last week in estonia. trouble. yeah, as they did la

since its relaunch from latvia, tv rain's audience has| latvia, tv rain's audience has grown.utube. i think tv rain can — its content on youtube. i think tv rain can stop _ its content on youtube. i think tv rain can stop putin. - its content on youtube. i think tv rain can stop putin. i - its content on youtube. i think tv rain can stop putin. i think| tv rain can stop putin. i think citizens of russia can stop putin. hello. most of the weekend's showers will come on saturday, there will be some heavy downpours around, a blustery day, too. by sunday, it's a different story — it's looking drier. we are in between weather systems by then. now, low pressure very much in control for saturday just to the north of scotland, bands of showers swinging around that. before that pulls away on sunday, there's the gap we find ourselves in, this next system coming in towards the south and west later in the day. after a cold night in scotland, we'll start saturday with some rain in the west, having gone through northern ireland overnight. rain across parts of north—west england, wales too.

ulris organises tours with a focus on latvia's soviet heritage. actually the most famous soviet era... we meet at the bottom of the country's first skyscraper, built in the 1950s. well, we've got stalin's cake, by later nickname, actually at the present moment the academy of sciences, and one of the most controversial and most significant buildings from the soviet era in riga. i'll be happy to get inside. there's quite a view here. oh yes, beautiful. almost the entire riga, it is possible to see from here. when it's not snowing quite so much? yes. of course. i made those tours for the last 20 years. those tours became more and more popular with the westerners, because you can see unique things from the soviet era. so what was it like for you to grow up under the soviet regime here? it was a hard time. so you had to queue? yeah, even to buy meat or butter. it was a hard time. so in the early 90s, independence was just around the corner, what were you doing? i was a student then, of course, i was on the barricades. we wanted not to be under control.

the family have been in latvia for only a week.group and independent financial backing, tv rain has a newsroom again. a reunited team are discussing what will be in the first programme. i am overexcited and i'm scared and i'm nervous. i know tikhon will be perfect, he always is. i'm praying for everything to be right. tv rain is streaming live on youtube, which, for now, is still available in russia. already, tens of thousands are watching. we are not there. we're not on the ground. we need to find the way to be as honest, as professional as we were. it's a huge stress and a huge trauma for russians to understand, to acknowledge that their country right now is on the other side, that their country is an aggressor, actually. right now the only thing that we can do is to spread information, fight propaganda, put the facts in front of people. cheering i don't want to be a part of a political fight. unfortunately, we are part of a political fight, but it's not our choice to be there. we just wanted to be journalists. our mission is to

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this then organises tours with a focus on latvia's soviet heritage. of the country's first skyscraper, built in the nineteen fifties. we have got stalin's birthday cake, by nickname, one of the most controversial and most significant buildings from the soviet era in riga. there is quite a few years. yes, beautiful. almost the entire riga, it is possible to see from here. when it is not snowing? yes, of course. those tours became more and more popular with westerners because he can see unique things from the soviet era. so what was it like for you to grow up under the soviet regime here? it was hard. you had to queue? yeah, even to buy meat or butter. it was hard. so in the early 90s, independence wasjust butter. it was hard. so in the early 90s, independence was just around the corner, what were you doing?” was a student, of course. we wanted not to be under control, we believed that we will live better without this huge big brother. yes. the russian bears still projects in shadow over the tiny country, but it is also part of its dna. about one infour

in latvia it is not always clear.y russian disinformation to so doubt, confusion. moscow's objective to discredit european democracy on its border. and here is one example of what appears to be russian disinformation. this website is aimed at ethnic russians across the baltic is part of a news organisation which is bankrolled by the kremlin. what kind of stories does it put out? listen to this, among latvians, says, adolf hitler is more popular than harry potter. so the impression you get when you read this is that in latvia, in an eu country, that's the ideology is thriving. but is it true? i am off to investigate. my first stop is latvia's largest bookseller. how many copies off of mein kampf was sold? none. it is not available. what do you think about this claim that in latvia adolf hitler is more popular than harry potter? that in latvia adolf hitler is more popular than harry potter7m that in latvia adolf hitler is more popular than harry potter? it is nonsense. it is absolute faith. rita i’u ns nonsense. it is a

yannis from latvia ?what extent is the us going to isolate itself from the international community? how can they change the behaviour of president putin and what will be the consequences for us in the baltic states? right. is the united states going to isolate itself? perhaps we will go to you first, mark kimmitt? i don't think the united states is going to isolate itself at all. the united states is a world trader and a world power. we cannot save ourselves, we cannot be more secure by hiding behind our borders. it's just not going to happen, it cannot happen. i hope mark is right but i fear he is wrong. and that is that our president has made a decision, he has made a decision to put america first and that is a phrase that has meaning in our politics. it means that the united states is going to pay less attention to the rest of the world, it is not going to play the leadership role it has played since world war ii ended and that enlightened self interest that we played for 50 years is what helped europe

in latvia it's not always clear.sow doubt, confusion. moscow's objective to discredit european democracy on its border. and here is one example of what appears to be russian disinformation. this website is called baltnews. it's aimed at ethnic russians across the baltic, but is part of a news organisation which is bankrolled by the kremlin. what kind of stories does it put out? well, here's one. listen to this, "among latvians," it says, "adolf hitler is more popular than harry potter. hitler's mein kampf tops the readers book choice in latvia." so the impression you get when you read this is that in latvia, in an eu country, nazi ideology is thriving. but is it true? i am off to investigate. my first stop is latvia's largest book—seller. how many copies of mein kampf were sold in your shop, say, in 2018? none. not a single copy? not a single copy. it is not available, then, in the book shops in latvia? no, it is not available. what do you think about this claim that in latvia adolf hitler is more popular than harry

it has not been published in latvia for over 20 years.y link to the hitler story — it is rita. she runs a second—hand book website in latvia. it had based its report on data from her web page. mein kampf is available through her site and users do appear to be clicking on it — but who exactly? so, it is interesting that about 70% of all clicks are anonymous. and if we compare it with the other most popular books like harry potter, 70% are registered users. so if most of the clicks for mein kampf are anonymous, what does that mean? they could be fake users. fake views to make fake news? yeah, definitely. i think the fundamental aim of the russian operation is to undermine the other countries. russia cannot tolerate the success of the baltics that have embraced freedoms and values of the west and can be successful. a good example is very dangerous so you should taint it. if russia has become the grand spoiler, can it be, does it still want to be a superpower? this is my chance to ask the president. vladimir putin has just finished an event n

turning entire groups every, you know, topic, every conversation, - every person or organisation latvia, where i'm reporting from, was once part of the soviet union, with a shared border with russia, but nowadays is a staunch member of nato. and its changing society, when it was forced to move out of moscow i, donald john trump, do solemnly swear... president trump used to say he'd sort out the war in ukraine within 2a hours of coming into office. that was never going to happen, of course, but getting a peace deal russia will keep all or most of the territory it's captured, and ukraine won't be allowed tojoin nato for a long time, that'd be victory of a kind for president putin, he was lucky to survive an attempted coup but has the war now turned decisively in putin's favour? here in riga, still, he's in power. he doesn't have any plausible opposition. it seems like russian forces so, like, he has some territorial gains. whether it means that his winning now allows him to stay in power because, as we have seen working inside the country, russia is an amazing place to make sure that puti

tikhon dzyadko in riga, latvia, welcome to hardtalk. thank you so much for having me here.eat pleasure to have you on this show. now, it strikes me this past year has been one of extraordinary challenge and disruption for you at tv rain. the reason, i guess, is simple — vladimir putin would like to see you cease to exist. how close to ceasing to exist has it come for you? well, we can say that, last march, tv rain, or dozhd, died. we were out of air for four months because, at the beginning of march, we were forced to leave the country, and most of ourjournalists left the country, and the tv station stopped operating. but then injuly, we decided to relaunch the tv station here in riga, and also we have a studio in amsterdam, because we know that millions and millions of people in russia, they are eager to get independent information, primarily about this war, but about the situation in russia as well. how do you know that? can you reasonably measure your audience? because, of course, right now it's an internet audience. it's via your youtube channel, if we're talking about

well, to finish this week, we are off to latvia. turned its back on the old soviet union, and won its independence back in 1990. but although it successfully made the transition from communism to capitalism, some people are still kind of nostalgic for certain elements of the old as christa found out when she visited the capital, riga, earlier this year. the russian bear still projects its shadow over the tiny country. but it's also part of its dna. about one in four latvians are ethnic russian. and imants is one of them. a few years ago he opened a bar for those nostalgic for their youth under the soviet regime. and it had to include one of the latvia's most popular games, novuss. show me? i must hit that one, and hit those into the pockets? this will be embarrassing, wait for this. yeah! no! so we've got all sorts of soviet goodies here, that used to be served up during that era. we've got salami, cheese, herring and spratt with egg all served on bread. it used to come like this. you would order iooml of vodka, and one of these sna

latvia were determined to gate—crash the two team four—man party.at momentum into their fourth and final attempt. at the last world championships in 2021, latvia missed out on a medal by 17 hundredths of a second. here they guaranteed themselves one. great britain and germany will determine what colour. like latvia, great britain had gone faster with every passing round. if they can continue that sequence, gold might be theirs for the taking. whether it was nerves, expectation, or the weight of history, hall and cco weren't quite at their bobsleigh best, posting only the sixth fastest time, which left him tied for first place. gold would require a mistake from germany, and with four—time champion with friedrich at the helm, that looked unlikely. the germans flew down the track, stopping the clock on a new record, handing friedrich his world crown by almost seven tenths. celebrations for germany as they when the one that matters once again, but a first men's four—man medal in 84 years a great consolation for team gb. that is all from us, stay with us

. , ., ., , extravaganza last week against latvia. ., , ., , ., latvia.ing - latvia. going to be a big one. great stuff, thank you forjoining us. - there are four second round matches in the men�*s fa cup as well today. rochdale and plymouth are into the second half. plymouth as you can see, are a goal up. one goal each between wigan and colchester. highlights of all the games on a special fa cup match of the day at 11.45 tonight. four games too in the premier league including ralf rangnick�*s first game in charge of manchester united. they�*re at home to crystal palace. steven gerrard�*s aston villa host leicester in the late kick off celtic can narrow the gap at the top of the scottish premiership to four points. they�*re at dundee unted, who can go third with a win. livingston against hearts, kick—off 3pm. it is a huge day in the formula one title fight as contenders lewis hamilton and max verstappen battle it out at saudi arabian grand prix. hamilton starts the penultimate race of the season on pole but if verstappen manages to outscore hamilton by 18

first of all— into poland and latvia? of course. first of all to _ into poland and latvia?f course. first of all to baltic— into poland and latvia? of course. first of all to baltic countries - first of all to baltic countries because it is not a secret that in their propaganda, russian propaganda, they are constantly talking that they have or not with ukraine but with nato. so invading baltic countries while the us choose the president who is not likely to help ukraine, they will show that nato is weak. and some aid should be given in this case to these countries. what i want to see is the more weapons and aid we get, the less chance that russia starts world war iii, invading other european countries. because when they see that ukraine has much resource from allies, first of all from the us, because the us has the resource to cover all our needs in all spheres, if they see, it will help to break their will to continue the war. {lila their will to continue the war. 0k, thank ou their will to continue the war. 0k, thank you very — their will to continue the war. 0k, thank yo

and it's downhill all the way in the mountains of latvia.art this week in the spanish capital, madrid, where change is coming fast. the way people get around the city is being transformed, city officials are clearing the cars from the congested streets and opening them up to new possibilities — rentable electric scooters. they have become increasingly popular in many european cities of late. for lots of people, it's a transport revolution they've been waiting for. for others, it's something else entirely. too many in madrid. madrid resident rafa estafania reports. look at this! electric scooters, bicycle sharing, everybody seems to be sharing means of transport now in madrid. nobody seems to use their own bikes, their own scooters any more. we've got here the electric bikes, they are being charged at the moment, and over there, a line full of electric scooters. they are everywhere. it seems that everybody in madrid is using them to move around. and they are just part of the story. faced with some of the worst pollution in europe, city offici

lithuania and latvia has an expl°5i°"-_ lithuania and latvia has an explosion.huania and latvia has an exlosion. f . . . explosion. they've launched an investigation. _ footballer benjamin mendy is found not guilty of six counts of rape and one of sexual assault. but he faces a retrial on two other counts on which the jury failed to reach a verdict. also in the programme, how the world cup may have given a much—needed boost to the uk's economy. hello and welcome. russia says its forces have completed the capture of soledar, a salt—mining town in eastern ukraine that's been the focus of intense fighting. these are the latest aerial shots of the town. as you can see, it has been completely flattened from the relentless pounding by russian forces. after six months of russian military setbacks — it would be the first ukrainan town to be captured sincejuly. but ukraine's military denies that soledar has fallen and says that the fighting is still going on. the defence ministry in moscow said the capture of soledar would allow russian troops to cut off ukrainian forces

and this pipeline is connecting lithuania and latvia.moment, there are no injuries, or no significant damages for the surrounding buildings. at the moment, the gas supplies towards latvia, they are restored via the pipeline. also, the consumers of natural gas in lithuania will not be affected. that is what we know at the moment. and, there was an explosion in one of the pipelines. 0k, is there a possibility that this could affect supplies to people, given that we are in the middle of winter in northern europe? how many people could potentially be effective is this gas pipeline is damage for a certain amount of time? at the moment, we are working that our clients will not be affected by this explosion, because we have pipelines. also, we have several inlet points towards lithuania, so we might use gas from different terminals. the manchester city footballer — benjamin mendy — has been found not guilty of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, after a six month trial at chester crown court. jurors failed to reach verdicts on t

people _ latvia for freedom. there is freedom about it. people peacefully _ latvia for freedom.people peacefully and - about it. people peacefully and calmly standing together as a clear and visible sign.— and visible sign. other women who have seen her— and visible sign. other women who have seen her stand _ and visible sign. other women who have seen her stand has _ and visible sign. other women who have seen her stand has started i and visible sign. other women who have seen her stand has started to | have seen her stand has started to join in the weekly vigil. as it more likely to change people's mind and lying down on the road cuts might do, might make people think a bit harder. for more stories, head to the bbc news website. hello i'm here with the latest sports news. we started to ask on, the 34th edition of africa cup of nations has reached the semifinal stage with both matches on wednesday. the host ivory coast play the democratic republic of the congo, but before that, as the other way height heavyweights, ledger play south africa. they've been given a massive boost wi

and — few countries including britain and latvia and poland and us which are assisting _ latvia andg ukrainian army. why are other— assisting ukrainian army. why are other countries watching and letting ukrainians— other countries watching and letting ukrainians bleed and not giving assistance whilst hiding behind high morat— assistance whilst hiding behind high moral principles are maybe something else. moral principles are maybe something else the _ moral principles are maybe something else. the blood of ukrainians and also on _ else. the blood of ukrainians and also on the — else. the blood of ukrainians and also on the hands of these non—decision makers and i would like to defiect— non—decision makers and i would like to deflect also it is notjust me telling — to deflect also it is notjust me telling this, the previous polish president said the same.- president said the same. which countries in _ president said the same. which countries in europe _ president said the same. which countries in europe you - president said the same. which countries in europe you are - president said

england's 20 no demolition of latvia, they'll be much tougher| of latvia, they'll be much tougher testy that score line of course and certainly raised the question of how you balance the need before competitive matches with the need to grow the game in emerging countries. speaking on the football news show reporterjo currie said until countries like latvia are able to match the huge investment by the fa, results like this will remain. the investment in terms of giving the players professional full—time contracts, we see the investment in terms of backroom staff increased and improved yet the english fa is reaping the rewards of it. they may not be in the same position to spend that money, other nations are not so keen to spend it and want them to develop women's football. until other nations get on league with women's games i think it will be something received fairly regularly. and you can her more of that debat on the football news show, available now on the bbc iplayer, with a new episode landing every weekday. johanna konta announced her retirement from tennis today at the age of 3

poland and fellow eu states that to any and latvia influx of migrants.of migrants. poland and fellow eu states that to any and latvia have seen influx of migrants. poland and fellow eu states that to any and latvia have seen sharp influx of migrants. poland and fellow eu states that to any and latvia have seen sharp increases influx of migrants. poland and fellow eu states that to any and latvia have seen sharp increases in migrants in the middle east and asia. they said many are being flown into belarus and being pushed across the border by belarusian authorities. belarus has denied the accusations. while much of the world begins to open up after coronavirus lockdowns — australia remains a fortress. it's almost 18 months since the country shut its borders to try and control the spread of covid—19. and with limits on how many travellers can come in — tens of thousands of australians are still effectively locked out of their own country. and with a slow vaccination roll out and the prospect of unfettered international travel is still a long way off. shaim