Pabriks. Tas vienmēr ir Pabriks ar saviem izteikumiem. The Latvian defence minister, Artis Pabriks, has said Russian troops massed near the Ukrainian border were enduring poor conditions and falling sick, potentially forcing Vladimir Putin’s hand on whether to attack or withdraw.
Pabriks, who is also deputy prime minister, told a virtual meeting of the German Marshall Fund of the United States:
The news is coming out that conditions for his soldiers at the border are not so pleasant, compared to our barracks here or your barracks in the United States.
There is also information that many people are suffering from Covid, so they are sick. So he needs to act.
Pabriks said Putin’s options included launching an invasion or choosing another kind of action, such as annexing the rebel-run Luhansk and Donetsk regions, which, “with his media in the pocket, he could sell this as [being] a hero.”
The third option would be a climbdown, but Pabriks said it was not clear how Putin would do this, having bet so heavily on the threat of war to gain concessions. “Putin is putting himself and Russia in a corner,” Pabriks said.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/feb/07/ukraine-russia-crisis-macron-heads-for-talks-with-putin-while-scholz-and-biden-meet-in-dc-live-coverage?page=with:block-62013b8c8f08351da48a2363#block-62013b8c8f08351da48a2363