Latvian President recalls encountering the beginning of Russian full scale invasion in Kyiv
Latvian President Egils Rinkēvičs has shared memories about his night in Kyiv on the night of 23-24 February 2022, when he was in Ukraine as Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs along with other Baltic counterparts.
Source: Rinkēvičs in an interview with online Latvian newspaper Nra.lv, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Rinkēvičs, who was Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time, arrived in Kyiv on 23 February with Estonian Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis. They faced a morning of full-scale war in the city of Kyiv.
In an interview, he noted that he did not dare to fall asleep at the time, sensing that something was about to happen.
"At night, it was announced that the airspace was closed. First, [it was closed] over Kharkiv and some Ukrainian cities. Then, suddenly, the entire Ukrainian airspace was closed. We didn't think about sleep anymore; everyone was watching what was happening on social media and in the media."
"Then, around 05:00 (Kyiv time), another speech by Putin was broadcast, during which distant strikes could be heard. It was already clear that the first missiles were hitting Ukraine," Rinkēvičs recalls.
"Can you imagine what it means when a city with four million inhabitants wakes up to missile strikes? Most people just jumped into their cars and started leaving the city by all means. It was quite a chaotic, difficult situation," he shared.
Rinkēvičs said he could not recall any particular emotions, noting that he simply began to do what he had to do as a person in his position.
He contacted his Estonian counterpart, and they were considering issuing a joint appeal. Their Ukrainian counterparts no longer had time for any visits.
"It was necessary to start evacuation. But before that, we went to the embassy and, within an hour, decided that the Latvian embassy should leave because the situation was very uncertain... We received requests from TV channels and radio. Latvia was requesting interviews," Rinkēvičs noted.
The ministers also responded to numerous calls from other counterparts from Europe and the USA. Rinkēvičs had to participate in an emergency meeting of the Latvian government remotely.
He joked that he had been suffering from a cold the day before, but he simply "forgot" about the illness on the morning of 24 February because of everything that had started.
Egils Rinkēvičs also recalled the surreal feeling he experienced when he heard the echoes of a missile strike from the hotel window and then, with a slight delay, the same sound came from a CNN broadcast.
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