President Edgars Rinkēvičs and Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (JV) expressed confidence that Latvia’s law enforcement and security services are prepared to maintain public order on the 9th of May and to prevent potential provocations, should any arise, the officials made these remarks to journalists following their meeting on Wednesday.
Rinkēvičs noted that both he and the Prime Minister are closely monitoring the readiness of the responsible agencies. On Thursday, the 8th of May, the President is scheduled to meet with the Minister of the Interior to discuss current internal security issues, including matters related to the 9th of May.
“The services are indeed monitoring the situation and reporting on their preparedness. I believe all our responsible institutions are ready,” said Rinkēvičs.
He stressed the importance of preventing provocations and expressed confidence that the relevant agencies would succeed in doing so. The President also mentioned that fallen soldiers of World War II would be commemorated on the 8th of May during a ceremony at the Brothers’ Cemetery.
Siliņa likewise emphasized that she regularly receives updates from the responsible institutions regarding the situation leading up to the 9th of May.
“Of course, the services are prepared for various scenarios. I also trust that our law enforcement, internal affairs, and security services will keep close watch on all developments that may occur before or around the 9th of May,” Siliņa said.
She highlighted the importance of public awareness: “We are all informed that the 9th of May is a date for which we are fully prepared, and our law enforcement agencies will do their job to the best of their ability,” the Prime Minister added.
As reported earlier, the State Security Service (VDD) confirmed on Tuesday that it has no information indicating that pro-Kremlin individuals are planning provocations for the 9th of May. However, it also noted that such provocations cannot be completely ruled out.
On the 9th of May, the VDD will work in an enhanced mode in cooperation with the State Police to monitor the country’s security situation.
For many years, under the influence of Kremlin propaganda, a portion of Latvian society has widely marked the 9th of May as Victory Day over Nazi Germany, one of the cornerstones of the Putin regime’s ideology. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, public celebrations near the Soviet Army monument in Riga’s Pārdaugava district were banned in 2022, though large crowds still gathered. The monument was demolished later that year.
In 2023, the Latvian Parliament passed legislation prohibiting public entertainment and celebratory events, assemblies, marches, and pickets on the 9th of May that aim to undermine or threaten Latvia’s democratic and national values. The law also bans activities promoting war, military aggression, totalitarianism, violence, or misrepresenting historical events.