The assassination of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny unfortunately did not come as a surprise— this is not the first political murder by the Kremlin. Today, there are more than 1000 political prisoners in Russia, and the situation in Belarus is even worse. The only possible way in which we, Europe and the civilised world, can help them and ensure that justice prevails is secure Ukraine’s victory against Russia’s aggression, emphasised Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima and Head of the Latvian Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), addressing a meeting of PACE’s Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy on Tuesday, 5 March, in Paris, France.

In an open letter, the Speaker of the Saeima Daiga Mieriņa, along with the parliament speakers of several other European countries, urges the U.S. House of Representatives to expedite decisions regarding assistance to foreign countries and providing Ukraine with the necessary funds to continue its fight.

To strengthen the Parliament's ties with civil society and underscore its pivotal role in law-making, today, on 27 February—the World NGO Day—the Saeima, together with partners from the non-governmental sector, started a new tradition, introducing the Saeima committees Open Door Day.

“We believe that Ukraine will win, and the next time when we gather here, the mood will be different - we will commemorate the heroes and all those who fought selflessly for us all - for Latvia, for Ukraine,” said Daiga Mieriņa, Speaker of the Saeima, on Saturday, 24 February, in her address at the event Together until Victory! at the Freedom Monument, honouring the victims of the war in Ukraine.

On Thursday, 22 February, the Saeima adopted amendments to the Law on Agriculture and Rural Development prohibiting the import of agricultural and animal feed products from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus for consumption in Latvia. 

“We stand by the people of Ukraine and we will continue to stand by them. Latvia will do everything in its power for a quicker victory for Ukraine!” Speaker of the Saeima Daiga Mieriņa said on Thursday, 22 February, at the extraordinary sitting of the Saeima dedicated to commemorating two years since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“It is right now, when the support for Ukraine is beginning to run out, a new push of hope and support is needed. If Russia paves its path with bloody lies, Ukraine counters it with truth that has been captured by the photograph,” said Antoņina Ņenaševa, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, on Thursday, 22 February, opening the photo exhibition “Ukraine. Chronicles of War” in the Saeima. The exhibition was created in cooperation with the Ukrainian Verkhovna, and the authors of the photographs are two prominent Ukrainian photojournalists – Maks Levin and Yan Dobronosov. 

In the light of the destruction and suffering as a result of Russia’s illegal, unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine, including the murder of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and acts of terrorism against civilian infrastructure, the Saeima adopted a Statement on Thursday, 22 February, honouring Ukrainian defenders and citizens for their courage and heroism and expressing support to Ukraine until its victory.

Two years ago, on 24 February 2024, Russia unleashed a full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. While Russia hoped to crush the Ukrainian state and nation within days, Ukraine has not only held out against the onslaughts of aggression, it has pushed the invaders out of a significant portion of its lands and continues to fight for its own freedom and ours.

Today, our common priority is security in the Baltic Sea region. We highly appreciate what we have already done together, and what Finland has done for our common security, said Daiga Mieriņa, Speaker of the Saeima, on Friday, 16 February, meeting with the Speaker of the Finnish Parliament Jussi Halla-Aho in Helsinki, Finland.