Latvian president visits Yahidne village, known as site of mass Russian atrocities in Chernihiv region

Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs began his visit to Ukraine with a trip to the village of Yahidne in the Chernihiv region, where Russian troops kept local residents in the basement for a month during the occupation.

Russian forces established a concentration camp in the school, where they kept all the villagers hostage for more than three weeks. 10 people died in that basement.

Latvian president had also visited Chernihiv, discussing joint efforts to rebuild Ukraine with Zelensky.

"I noted that there is potential for cooperation in the energy sector. We also need help in rebuilding medical infrastructure, schools, (arranging – ed.) bomb shelters for educational infrastructure," the President of Ukraine added.

For the next three years, Latvia will allocate 15 million euros for the Chernihiv region.

The Latvian president visited several sites of Russian atrocities in the region, one of them being the town of Yahidne.

Rinkēvičs was especially impressed by what he saw in the notorious local basement, where the Russian military held residents of the entire village in March last year and the stories of witnesses to those events.

"I am deeply convinced that we must talk to the European community about the creation of a special tribunal where Russian crimes would be condemned. Not only those that have been committed, but also those that continue to be committed. We must work in this direction."

The village started its reparations almost from the first day of Russia's withdrawal. All works are supported by authorities, volunteers, and philanthropists to achieve the same result – to win, rebuild, and bring people back home.

Chernihiv authorities thanked Latvia's assistance worth over 120,000 euros to purchase materials to reconstruct seven houses.

"We have already invested about five million dollars in the reconstruction of social facilities such as schools and kindergartens. As there is a high probability of Russian shelling of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, we are looking for opportunities to purchase generators. Helping to rebuild schools remains a priority. The next area will be (and we haven't talked about this yet) assistance in rebuilding the children's hospital. We are also working on setting up a support center for women affected by the aggression. In general, we plan to allocate 5 million euros annually for the next three years," Rinkēvičs said during a briefing at the Chernihiv Media Center.

During the working visit, the delegation visited Chernihiv to install modular houses provided by Latvia and inspected the building of the Shevchenko Drama Theater damaged by a rocket attack.

"The President of Latvia is on a visit to Chernihiv. We are grateful for the support of our city! Edgards Rinkēvičs visited the modular town on Drozd Street. We are installing 12 modular houses here, designed and financed by the Latvian support," the press release said.

Photo: Facebook / Oleksandr LomakoLatvia has been one of Ukraine's most active allies since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war, allocating 1% of its GDP to support the state.

The Latvian parliament called on NATO to invite Ukraine to join the bloc. The state also agreed with Canada on a joint training program for Ukrainian forces.

On November 23, the Latvian Saeima authorized the transfer of all movable property to Ukraine, including cars owned by the parliament.