Latvia: Russia commits “outright barbarity” with Oreshnik strike

European governments have condemned a Russian missile attack on Ukraine that used an intermediate‑range ballistic missile known as the Oreshnik, describing it as terror against civilians and a provocation close to European borders.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia took to social media to denounce the assault. In a post on X, the ministry said, “Russia has committed an act of outright barbarity.” It accused Moscow of deploying the Oreshnik and thereby committing “deliberate war crimes against civilians”, adding that overnight the missiles “tore into residential areas and critical infrastructure, plunging millions into darkness, cold and fear in the middle of winter.”

The ministry described the strikes as “calculated, mass terror against an entire nation” and said that “Russia’s lies cannot hide its crimes. There can be no excuses, no neutrality. Only maximum pressure on the aggressor and unwavering support for Ukraine.”

Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna also criticised the attack, linking it to recent developments in Europe, Ukraine and the United States on security guarantees. According to his statement, those steps along with events in Venezuela had “made Putin nervous”, and Russia’s answer was “air terror against Ukraine, killing civilians and leaving hundreds of thousands without heating, electricity, or water in the middle of winter.”

He said Moscow had again used the intermediate‑range Oreshnik in what he called a “deliberately provocative strike close to the borders of the European Union and NATO.”

Tsahkna argued that Russia remains on “its old path” and is not seeking peace or abandoning its goal of destroying Ukraine. He concluded that “to force a change in Russia’s course, international political and economic pressure must be turned up to the maximum and made unbearable.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev