Leader of the American Personnel in Latvia to promise

General Mark Millie, the leader of the U.S. staff, sought Latvia on Saturday to pledge allegiance to this small Baltic state, a member of NATO, which said it was “threatened by being on Russia’s border when it becomes the second North Korea.” “.

“We are here to assure the Latvians, the Latvian people and the Latvian military that the United States supports them,” a senior U.S. official told local media. After inspecting the site, the military base in Adasi, near Riga, said some 1,400 U.S. troops were concentrated in the country.

Since Russia’s occupation of Ukraine on February 24, Washington has sent about 20 Apache helicopters to Latvia.

He added that this was “a question of preventing any Russian aggression against another country, especially a country governed by NATO’s Part 5”, referring to the rule that imposes on the Atlantic Alliance to respond if a member is attacked.

However, General Millie rejected the idea of ​​not flying in Ukraine because it would mean “actively fighting” Russian forces.

“We have to go there and fight actively with the Russian Air Force,” he said. “This is not what NATO Secretary General (Jens) Stoltenberg or any other senior member state politician wants to do.”

“So, today, I do not see any plans to establish a no – fly zone,” said General Millie, the first senior U.S. official to speak publicly on the matter.

– “Second Afghanistan” –

Ukraine has been urging NATO to establish such a no-fly zone in Ukraine for several days, but Friday’s meeting of allies rejected the request to refrain from confrontation.

General Mark Milli met with top Latvian military officials in Riga, where he called for increased US military assistance, particularly by providing air defense systems, coast guard vessels and artillery, according to Latvian Defense Minister Artis Paprix.

Riga also wants the US military to establish a permanent presence in the country, where it is only making more rounds.

Latvia, a former Soviet Union, declared independence in 1991 and was one of the first countries to send military aid to Ukraine before the Russian invasion.

“The Ukrainians are fighting for us,” Babrix told a handful of reporters. “If Ukraine falls, the pressure on Europe will increase sharply.

“We must do everything we can to capture the Ukrainians,” he added, adding that the heroic resistance of the Ukrainians, even if they occupy Kiev, shows that Russia will not be able to control the country for long because Russian forces must confront the Ukrainian guerrillas.

Ukraine must help defend itself in becoming “Russia’s second Afghanistan and Russia ‘second North Korea.”