Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API (Chirp) + Gemini 2.5 Flash Non-Thinking. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:24Riga Bus Station. Every day, passenger buses depart from
00:00:28here, including to Russia. This
00:02:03is one of the largest international transport operators in the region. They
00:02:06estimate losses from a possible ban at approximately 6 million
00:02:10euros per year. The bus is currently the most accessible way
00:02:14for residents of the Baltics to visit relatives in neighboring countries,
00:02:17the company says. Well, people barely travel for business now.
00:02:21They travel, I don't know, the Latvian
00:02:24embassy still comes and asks us to take someone who
00:02:28will get a visa at the border. And there are such people because the embassy
00:02:32doesn't have time to issue them. For example, a close relative died, a mother,
00:02:36father, or someone else, and there are even such people. So people
00:02:39come to us with a special document from the Latvian embassy.
00:02:42We take them on the bus because drivers must check visas. They don't
00:02:46have a visa. That visa is issued at the border. According to the Latvian
00:02:50Road Transport Directorate, currently 21 permits have been issued in
00:02:53Latvia for regular bus services to
00:02:57third countries, i.e., outside the European Union. Here
00:03:00is the list: a significant part of the destinations are Ukrainian
00:03:04cities, Kyiv, Odesa, and others. Also, from Riga, you can
00:03:08travel to Moscow and St. Petersburg, and to Minsk with
00:03:11a transfer in Vilnius. The Latvian Association of Carriers
00:03:14says that in fact, only direct routes can be banned.
00:03:18Transfers are another matter. For example, a Latvian
00:03:20carrier drives you to the border, and on the other side, a Russian or
00:03:24Belarusian bus is already waiting. If
00:03:27you don't close, don't block the border. The number of
00:04:38trips to eastern neighbors has almost doubled, according to data
00:04:42from the Latvian State Security Service. We asked Riga residents
00:04:45what they think about plans to ban bus services to
00:04:49Russia and Belarus?
00:04:52I think it's stupid. People need to go wherever they want. Relatives
00:04:56and friends are everywhere. Are we not closed off? Well, if there's demand, why
00:04:59not? As long as there's demand. If, if
00:05:02people don't need it, if there's no demand, carriers won't go. Well, the fewer neighbors, the
00:05:06better, you're aware, right? We need to isolate ourselves from everyone
00:05:09generally. We need to preserve from...
00:05:50The company indicated that the decision was made due to a lack
00:05:53of state support and rising
00:05:55costs.
00:06:03Julianna has lived in Latvia her entire conscious life. She graduated from
00:06:07school in Riga, studied at the University of Latvia, works,
00:06:10and hosts an intellectual quiz.
00:06:13Recently, a friend sent Julianna a link to a report on Latvian
00:06:16television about a young man who, in addition to Latvian
00:06:20citizenship, also has Russian citizenship, because of which he
00:06:23may now lose his Latvian passport. "Does this not concern
00:06:27you by chance?" a friend asked Julianna.
00:06:30At that moment, I sat down and thought, it's possible that this really
00:06:34concerns me. All these years I haven't thought about it. Julianna also
00:06:37has dual citizenship, Latvian and Russian. She was born
00:06:41in Moscow.
00:07:13I remember VDNKh very well. I remember the Latvian embassy. My mother
00:07:17sang in the choir at the embassy. In Latvia,
00:07:19Julianna received a Latvian passport based on the repatriation of her family
00:07:23to their ethnic homeland. Further life is connected only with
00:07:27Latvia. Despite the fact that the girl's first language is
00:07:30Russian, she actually considers Latvian her native language. In Russian,
00:07:33as she herself admits, she speaks, but with an accent. According to
00:07:37Julianna, she herself does not understand how this is possible, but all these years she lived
00:07:41without thinking about the fact that she has another citizenship. In
00:07:45her family, she says, no one reminded her about
00:07:47this either.
00:07:50There were situations when my friends and I just joked about the fact that I was born in
00:07:54Russia, but not once, when we talked about something like that, did I
00:07:58have the thought, "Stop, I still have Russian citizenship." I lived in complete
00:08:01confidence that this had somehow been resolved at some point. Now that I
00:08:05think about it, it seems silly to me.
00:08:08Why is the situation she finds herself in threatening her?
00:08:19The exceptions are the countries of the European Union, of which Latvia
00:08:23is a part, and a number of other countries. Russia and Belarus are not
00:08:26on this list. In other words, when a person reaches adulthood,
00:08:3018 years old, and enters adult life, they have 7
00:08:33years to, if they want to retain Latvian citizenship, renounce
00:08:37their second Russian citizenship. In practice, renouncing a Russian
00:08:41passport is not so simple.
00:09:21with dual Latvian and Russian citizenship, most are under
00:09:2425 years old, meaning they are not violating the law. The
00:09:28Latvian Migration Service provided us with statistics indicating
00:09:31that the number of cases of deprivation of Latvian
00:09:34passports due to a second Russian citizenship has increased
00:09:38in recent years, and in 2025 compared to...
00:11:34I would like to see a person who, when they turn 18, first
00:11:37thinks about how to regularize their legal
00:11:40status.
00:11:47The complete cessation of trade and economic ties with Russia and
00:11:50Belarus has been discussed by the Latvian government for more than a year since
00:11:53the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
00:11:57Latvia, like neighboring Baltic countries,
00:11:59unequivocally condemned the attack, recognized Russia as an aggressor
00:12:03state, and Belarus as its accomplice. Latvia, Lithuania, and
00:12:06Estonia are consistently severing ties with Russia at all levels. On the other
00:12:10hand, within 4 years of the full-scale war, Latvia was
00:12:13recognized as the EU leader in importing agricultural
00:12:16products from Russia, as well as the champion in
00:12:20supplying alcohol to its eastern neighbor, particularly
00:12:22whiskey. And one of the ruling Latvian parties,
00:12:26the Progressives, proposes, quote: "to stop the hypocritical
00:12:29situation where European countries help
00:12:32Ukraine with one hand and pour money into the economies of aggressor
00:12:36countries with the other." This issue will not be resolved by
00:12:40adopting a single law and a complete ban. There must be
00:12:43a clear plan on how we will achieve this so that we can
00:12:46balance the political goal with economic consequences.
00:12:50Yes, this may have negative economic consequences, but in the short
00:12:54term. In the long term, I believe it will have
00:12:57positive economic consequences. Let's look at
00:13:00the statistics: last year, 2025, Latvia
00:13:03exported goods to Russia worth over 962
00:13:07million euros. Almost half is accounted for by the already mentioned
00:13:10alcohol. This is data from the Central Statistical Bureau of
00:13:13Latvia. At the end of last year, Russia was in sixth place among
00:13:17Latvia's main export partners. Let's compare with the figures from before
00:13:21the war, 2021, when exports peaked. Latvia:
00:13:33exported goods to Russia worth 1,197 million euros, a total decrease of 19.20%. In fact, the Latvian government says, today we are talking about transit
00:13:37exports, that is, deliveries to Russia of goods from other countries
00:13:40through Latvia. In imports, that is, deliveries from Russia to
00:13:44Latvia, the collapse after the start of the full-scale war is critical,
00:13:48according to official data 93%. The
00:13:51Ministry of Economy of Latvia says that from a moral and ethical standpoint,
00:13:55a complete refusal to trade with Russia is understandable, but in practice, such
00:13:58a decision will not have much effect. Goods will continue to be supplied to
00:14:02Russia through other EU
00:14:04countries.
00:14:07Sometimes the argument is made that we need to make life difficult for Russia and impose
00:14:11such a ban in Latvia, that we will not export, for example, alcohol
00:14:14to Russia. But if other countries do not do the same,
00:14:18then it is clear that these goods will still reach Russia through Hungary
00:14:21or Slovakia, the most prominent examples. The initiators
00:14:25of the ban, in response, say that the goal is to set an example for other
00:14:29European countries and influence decision-makers in
00:14:32Brussels. What do Latvian traders think about the proposal
00:14:35to completely sever economic relations with their eastern neighbor?
00:14:39The Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Latvia's largest business association,
00:14:42says that today such a decision would cost Latvia approximately
00:14:461-2% of its national
00:14:49GDP.
00:14:54America,
00:15:04or Africa, Asia, view our region differently.
00:15:07Many of them consider Russia an adequate partner, so
00:15:11it's impossible to completely ban anything in our world. What we can
00:15:14do as a state is to maximize the reduction of
00:15:17this cooperation. One example of when the voice of Latvia and other
00:15:21Baltic countries was heard in Brussels is a complete ban on
00:15:25the export transit to Russia of manganese ore, a useful
00:15:28mineral that Russia can use in the arms
00:15:32industry and, consequently, in the war against
00:15:34Ukraine. The ban was included in the fourteenth package of
00:15:38anti-Russian sanctions adopted by EU countries in the summer
00:15:41of 2024. Before that, investigative journalists
00:15:44found that in 2023, Estonia and Latvia accounted for almost
00:15:4890% of the transit of manganese
00:15:51ore sent to Russia. And since the start
00:15:53of the full-scale war, the volumes of these supplies have grown exponentially.
00:15:57Manganese ore is just one example, says Estonian economist Ron Luvištšuk.
00:16:01This year, investigators found that an Irish plant,
00:16:04partially owned by Russian billionaire Oleg
00:16:08Deripaska, is suspected of supplying alumina to
00:16:11Russian factories that produce weapons for the war in
00:16:14Ukraine. An Estonian company may be involved in providing
00:16:18the logistics for these deliveries. It's normal,
00:16:21it's not a sanctioned product. This
00:16:25alumina. No one prohibits businesses
00:16:28from conducting
00:16:30such deals, because indeed, as...
00:16:33ну осуществлять такие сделки, потому что действительно, как...
00:17:07who continue to conduct deals with Russia and
00:17:10Belarus. Previously, in the first years of the full-scale war, the Latvian Ministry
00:17:14of Economy published such lists, but then
00:17:17abandoned this practice, considering that the lists did not fully
00:17:21reflect the real situation in Latvian
00:17:23business.
00:17:26In fact, this is informing the public so that they can make their own choice
00:17:30whether they want to cooperate with this company and buy their
00:17:33goods. From the first days of the war, we have been calling on entrepreneurs to leave.
00:18:07in all lists, but it will not reflect the real picture, or
00:18:11some enterprise hypothetically declares cargo at customs
00:18:14to Kazakhstan, meaning no connection to exports to Russia and corresponding
00:18:18lists, but whether this cargo is unloaded in Pskov, no one
00:18:21knows. I will add the results of a survey published in the fall
00:18:25of last year by the agency Norрстат, which showed an ambiguous
00:18:28position of Latvian residents on the issue of trade with Russia and
00:18:32Belarus. 36% supported a complete ban on business with
00:18:36eastern neighbors. 46% opposed it.
00:18:54The land of harsh and pristine nature,
00:18:57Pshavi, a region that directly adjoins
00:19:00the Greater Caucasus mountain
00:19:03range.
00:19:06The highlanders of Pshavi speak their own special
00:19:09dialect of the Georgian language and in many ways
00:19:13differ from residents of other regions of Georgia,
00:19:16preserving their preferences
00:19:18in religion, in traditions, in
00:19:20cuisine.
00:19:26This was a real threat: there are
00:19:29criteria for a launch. If they are violated,
00:19:33the launch will be canceled. Problems
00:19:35with hydrogen leaks happened during the shuttle era, and we successfully
00:19:39resolved them. In the situation with Artemis and the SLS
00:19:42rocket, it's important to remember that this was the very first time these
00:19:46systems interacted as a single unit.
00:20:24Thank you so much for taking the time for us. I know you have a busy
00:20:27schedule. We saw last week you lobbying and posting
00:20:31on Instagram about the bill on sanctions against Russia and
00:20:34Iran. Do you think it's time to pass it? And that
00:20:38the president might sign it
00:20:39soon?
00:20:42Absolutely. Putin is a bandit. What he has done to the Ukrainian
00:20:46people is disgusting, how many women, children, and grandmothers he has killed.
00:20:50And it is important for us to defend freedom. The people of Ukraine are to be
00:20:53admired. Last week, I invited two Ukrainian
00:20:56commanders here to share with us developments in drone
00:21:00technology and combat. They are truly to be
00:21:03admired, but you know, if you support what Russia
00:21:07is doing, then sanctions should be imposed against you. There is
00:21:11no
00:21:11doubt about that.
00:21:16You are a very influential senator and communicate a lot with your colleagues.
00:22:05We need to intervene and support our friends, expect our friends to do more for their own defense, but
00:22:09understand that we live in dangerous times. You cannot on one hand
00:22:12say, "Oh, Russia is a terrible place," and on the other hand,
00:22:16not hold it accountable. We are obliged to do so.
00:22:20our army we need to do the same with
00:22:23communist China. We need to stop buying anything from communist China. We are building up
00:22:27because we are concerned, but at the same time, we do not explain
00:22:31to the American public that they should stop buying their
00:22:34goods. But the sanctions bill, in my opinion, is a step towards
00:22:38holding Putin accountable. I want Ukraine to win,
00:22:40and I want Russia to lose. Ukrainians
00:22:44are good, they are on the good side, and the Russian government is on
00:22:48the bad side.
00:23:00It seems that the president's perception, and that of many
00:23:04in this building, the perception of the value of Ukraine for the United
00:23:07States has changed. When you talk to colleagues, do you
00:23:11feel that they truly understand that Ukraine is a much better
00:23:15ally for the United States than many in that part
00:23:18of the world?
00:23:22and I think they are excellent allies, they have shown that they are ready
00:23:26to fight for freedom. What is truly admirable about Ukrainians
00:23:29is that in very difficult conditions they fight for
00:23:33freedom. Look at how we treat Israelis, they fight for
00:23:37their freedom, they are ready to fight because they want their
00:23:40children and grandchildren to live in a free environment. When I think about the heroism
00:23:44of Ukrainians, I think the world admires them for how they
00:23:48went through all of this.
00:24:20that he could use Trump and the Europeans, and he really did
00:24:23take advantage of the Europeans, but I think he underestimated Trump's
00:24:26commitment to freedom around the world. I suppose people were surprised by
00:24:30how President Trump is working to prevent Iran from having nuclear
00:24:34weapons. I think they were surprised that he is trying
00:24:37to hold communist China accountable. I think they were
00:24:40surprised that he eliminated Maduro in Venezuela. So,
00:24:44I suppose the world was generally surprised by how decisively
00:24:47Donald Trump advocates for freedom
00:24:50worldwide.
00:24:53Do you think he, Putin, still believes he can outlast
00:24:57the United States and its allies? Or rather, can
00:25:00Congress prove him wrong? You said that we need
00:25:03to act quickly and pass this bill? I think
00:25:06many believe they can survive and outlast because historically
00:25:10they have been dealing with presidents of the United States who chose a policy
00:25:14of appeasement. Look back, look at Obama and look at
00:25:17Biden. They appeased dictators everywhere.
00:26:05I think part of it is that Ukrainians are very creative in what
00:26:08they do, and they manage to create increasingly advanced
00:26:12drone technologies, but perhaps even more impressive
00:26:16is the quality of their operators, the fact that with a very small group
00:26:20of people they destroy Russian troops. I spoke with
00:26:23one Ukrainian commander who, with 2,000 men,
00:26:26destroyed Russian equipment worth over 15 billion
00:26:30dollars. I spoke with another who manages a very
00:26:34small part of the Ukrainian military budget, but who has destroyed
00:26:37about 30% of the Russian army, because they
00:26:41figured out how to do this very skillfully with autonomous
00:26:44weapons, excellent training, and essentially constant
00:26:48feedback, where those who use the technology constantly
00:26:52communicate with those who create it. This constant
00:26:55improvement day by day, what the Ukrainian army has done,
00:26:59is truly admirable.
00:27:02You are calling on the president and administration to sign this
00:27:05document as soon
00:27:06as possible?
00:27:11I've talked to people at the Department of Defense. I've talked to
00:27:14the president about the importance of working with Ukrainians, because you can't help
00:27:18but respect and admire what they are achieving. I don't
00:27:21think many people believed that Ukraine would even survive, let alone
00:27:25take this war to Russian territory and to the Russian
00:27:28people, meaning for quite a long time Russians had practically no…
00:28:32this applies to all our allies who believe in freedom, because Putin does not believe in personal freedom,
00:28:44to achieve this,
00:28:45they
00:28:50have already acted together to achieve this. We must understand
00:28:54that there is a significant threat to our freedom and independence, but
00:29:00Xi does not believe in personal freedom, and I...
00:29:14Will Putin's defeat in Ukraine be the first step in
00:29:18containing this, if you will,
00:29:20alliance?
00:29:23I think that Ukrainians, through their actions, have shown that corrupt dictatorships
00:29:27fail, and freedom triumphs. My last
00:29:31question about this. If you had the opportunity to send Putin
00:29:34a message, what would it be
00:29:36today?
00:29:42I would tell Putin, you are a bandit, and you should
00:29:45go to hell for all the death and destruction you have
00:29:48caused the Ukrainian people, and I will do everything in my power
00:29:52to continue to help fight for freedom anywhere in the world
00:29:55against you, as well as against Xi, Kim Jong Un,
00:29:58the Ayatollahs, and other disgusting bandits who rule
00:30:02the lives of people around the world. Thank you, Senator, for
00:30:06taking the time to share your
00:30:08views with us.
00:30:18The amazing story of Alexander Gabyshev, known as Sasha
00:30:21the Shaman, who is going from Yakutia to Moscow to overthrow
00:30:24the government. What does that mean? It means lightning and the wrath
00:30:28of God.