Latvian citizen accused of plotting sabotage operations in Ukraine

Latvia's Prosecutor's Office has charged a Latvian citizen on suspicion of travelling to Ukraine to commit acts of sabotage. Source: European Pravda, with reference to Delfi Details: The man's name is Ivan Tarabanov, and his trial in Riga City Court is scheduled for 7 June.

Tarabanov is accused of attempting to illegally participate in an armed conflict and travelling for the purpose of terrorism.

He is currently in custody. Tarabanov travelled to Ukraine to take part in the war, violating Latvian law, in January 2022. He received an assignment from a person who introduced himself as Aleksandr, and who remains unidentified, to conduct a sabotage operation involving arson in Ukraine.

Tarabanov travelled to Ukraine to carry out the plan. The prosecutor's office did not disclose any further information. Before being referred to the Prosecutor's Office, the case had been investigated by the State Security Service of Latvia (SSSL).

The SSSL is currently verifying whether several other Latvian citizens were illegally involved in the war in Ukraine on the side of the Russian armed forces.

Background:

• Earlier in April, the Latvian state police opened a criminal case against a man aged around 22 for publicly supporting Russia's war crimes and glorifying Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in the centre of the Latvian capital, Riga.
• The Latvian state police also detained two Latvian citizens who tore down a Ukrainian flag from a building in Riga.

Support UP or become our patron!