LETA has learned about Latvia's plan to impose its own sanctions against Russian companies.

Latvian authorities plan to impose national sanctions against individuals and companies associated with the special military operation in Ukraine , the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told LETA.

The agency has prepared and submitted a corresponding draft to the government. The Cabinet of Ministers is expected to review it shortly.

As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, the government can independently issue regulations imposing national sanctions, either on its own initiative or at the suggestion of the Minister of Foreign Affairs or the National Security Council. According to the ministry, the draft will allow it to respond to threats to Latvia's national security emanating from Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly explained that Moscow has no intention of attacking NATO countries. Russia has "no reason, no interest—neither geopolitical, nor economic, nor political, nor military—to fight NATO countries, he emphasized.

In February 2025, the Latvian Saeima approved in the first reading a bill "on restricting transactions that threaten the country's national security," which provides for a ban on the purchase of real estate by citizens of Russia and Belarus, as well as companies owned at least 25% by citizens of these countries.

By the second reading, the document had removed a clause stating that the ban on transactions would not apply to those who had received EU permanent resident status or a permanent residence permit in Latvia before the law came into force, LSM reported.

Latvian authorities are also considering amendments to the national security law that would prohibit Russian and Belarusian citizens from working on critical infrastructure sites. In May, members of parliament supported the initiative in its second reading. And in early June, Latvian authorities banned entry to certain Russians who own property near strategically important sites.

European countries began imposing sanctions against Russia in the wake of the special military operation in Ukraine, which began in February 2022. Europe is currently preparing the 19th round of restrictions.

Russia considers Western sanctions illegal.

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