Latvian volunteer soldier Vitālijs Šampiņš, whose call sign was “Vilks” (“Wolf”), has been killed on the Kharkiv front in Ukraine, Latvian Television reported on social media.
This makes him the fourth Latvian volunteer to have lost his life since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to the archives of the LETA news agency.
The Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS) told LETA that the defence sector extends its deepest condolences to Šampiņš’ family, friends and fellow soldiers.
According to information available to the NBS, the Latvian national killed in Ukraine had not previously served in the Latvian National Armed Forces or completed mandatory military service.
The individual had also not informed the NBS, in accordance with the established procedure, that he was travelling to Ukraine to serve as a volunteer soldier in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meanwhile, told LETA that
the Latvian Embassy in Ukraine has not yet received official information regarding his death.
If such information is received, the embassy will provide all necessary assistance to his family.
Before becoming involved in active hostilities in Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence and the NBS urge Latvian citizens to carefully and responsibly assess their military knowledge, level of preparedness and practical skills.
As previously reported, Ņikita Tarenovs, whose call sign was “Latvietis” (“Latvian”), was killed in Ukraine in 2025.
In 2024, Latvian volunteer soldier Edgars Platonovs, born in 1983, was killed in Ukraine.
In the autumn of 2023, another Latvian volunteer, former Latvian National Armed Forces soldier Vitālijs Smirnovs, was killed in a Russian drone attack near the city of Lyman in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
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