Context: On August 20, 2026, Latvia published a list of companies that continue to trade with Russia and Belarus amid Russia’s war against Ukraine. The list includes 171 Latvian firms that export or import goods from these countries. Being on the list does not in itself constitute a violation of sanctions. However, the authorities believe that consumers, partners, and other companies have the right to know this information to decide whether to continue cooperating with the companies on the list.
On August 13, 2026, Letuchka hosts Liudmila Hladkaya and Yauhen Horyn on SBTV accused Latvia of plotting to assassinate Aleksandr Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin. They claim that Jānis Slaidiņš, an officer in the Latvian army, allegedly made this statement.
“Recently, this fellow, an expert on absolutely everything, said that they should kidnap... The presidents of Russia and Belarus should be eliminated, following the example of the leaders of Venezuela and Iran. He also expressed regret that Zelenskyy has not yet made their assassination his goal <...>,” Hladkaya said.
“A military official from one country says that we should kill the leaders of other states — and he is saying this openly,” Horyn concluded.
The claim that Slaidiņš had proposed removing both Lukashenko and Putin was spread by Baltnews and other Russian media outlets. Baltnews even claimed that Slaidiņš had said he was personally ready to “get the work done.” But this is a fake claim. On July 31, it was not Slaidiņš who suggested this scenario on TV24, but rather a viewer. He asked if it would be possible to “deal with” Putin and Lukashenko “in a similar way,” using Venezuela and Iran as examples.
“We’ve seen how skillfully America got rid of Venezuela’s leader. And they also got rid of that Iranian cleric rather quickly. Couldn’t we consider dealing with both Putin and Lukashenko in a similar way? I understand it would be more complicated there, but we could at least try. And it’s also a real shame that Zelenskyy has never said that Ukraine’s goal is to eliminate both Putin and Lukashenko physically. I’ve never heard him say anything like that,” the questioner remarked.
Jānis Slaidiņš did not support this idea. He responded that eliminating a single leader would not solve the problem because it is a systemic issue.
“Well, that wouldn’t be a solution. No, it wouldn’t. The regime in the Kremlin is monolithic. If Putin leaves, let’s say, another scoundrel just like him will take his place, right? It’s about the system. Unless that system is brought down. Only the people of Russia can do that; no one from the outside can. There may be different leaders, but as we can see, new ones keep emerging — figures who become leaders of the same system.. So nothing like that would happen,” Slaidiņš replied.
In other words, a Latvian officer did not call for the removal of the leaders of Russia and Belarus on TV24. A viewer asked about such a scenario, to which Slaidiņš responded that it would not be a solution.
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
