Car belonging to Ukrainian refugees burns out after being set on fire in Latvia

EUROPEAN PRAVDA – SUNDAY, 9 OCTOBER 2022, 08:26

A Zhiguli car belonging to a family of refugees from Ukraine was set on fire by unknown persons in Latgale in eastern Latvia on the night of 6–7 October. A Ford belonging to the owner of the Villa Roza guest house was also set on fire.

Source: European Pravda, citing LSM, a Latvian public broadcaster

Details: Villa Roza has provided shelter to around 50 Ukrainian refugees since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Its residents noticed a fire in the courtyard of the residence late on Thursday evening.

Valentyna Roshchupkina, the wife of the owner of the Zhiguli, said that the car could not be extinguished before it was burnt out. The Ford belonging to the owner of the guest house later caught fire, too, but was extinguished.

"The firefighters didn’t make it that far [after the first car caught fire], so we called them once again, as well as the police. That’s when they recorded that it was arson. Because at first we thought that our car just burst into flames on its own, though we’ve not used it in the past two days," the woman said.

Her family, including her retired mother, came to Latvia from the Russian-occupied territory of Ukraine in late May. Their house in Ukraine has been destroyed. The family was planning to drive the car back to Ukraine when the war ended.

Diana Lukina, a spokeswoman for the Latvian police, confirmed both instances of arson. She said that a criminal case has been opened as intentional arson was suspected.

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