The Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday vowed that it would intensify attacks on Ukrainian military sites and related infrastructure after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would double down on its attacks on Russian oil infrastructure. “Following Zelensky’s statement today, the Russian Armed Forces will step up strikes on military and defense industry facilities, as […]

Russia might not have directly interfered in Latvia’s election, but the vote still showed how the Ukraine war was distorting European democracy.

Latvia’s VDD intelligence service did not detect any of Russia’s classic interference tactics in the run-up to Saturday’s (3 October) vote, such as a spike in disinformation, vote buying, or a manufactured security scare.

The centre-right prime minister Andris Kulbergs retained power with 35.8 percent of the vote, even if coalition-building might take a while.

And voters’ concerns included the cost of living and failing healthcare, in what also sounded normal.

But despite the ordinary appearances, Russia’s war in Ukraine still influenced the election in fundamental ways, in a strange new normal for Europe that most of us had hardly imagined just five years ago.

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Russia has vowed to intensify its relentless strikes against Kyiv and warned foreign diplomats and other visitors to leave the country or be exposed to “mortal danger,” while Ukraine's leader said his country will respond to the Kremlin's deadly air campaign.