15 years after abolishing the measure, Riga plans to make all men aged 18-27 complete 11 months of training.
Latvia will reinstate compulsory military service for young men in response to Russian aggression, Defense Minister Artis Pabriks announced on Tuesday.
More Latvians with militarily training will act to deter Russia from targeting its smaller neighbor in a so-called zero-warning attack, Pabriks said in a tweet.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Latvia will reinstate compulsory military service for young men in response to Russian aggression, Defense Minister Artis Pabriks announced on Tuesday.
More Latvians with militarily training will act to deter Russia from targeting its smaller neighbor in a so-called zero-warning attack, Pabriks said in a tweet.
Men from 18 to 27 years of age will have to complete 11 months of service, with several options available to fulfill the requirements, such as serving in the armed forces or in other services or governmental ministries.
Pabriks said he expected the new measure to be voted on in parliament in the fall, and to be implemented from January or February next year.
But in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine, Riga has been scaling up its defense capabilities.
The country of 2 million has an estimated 7,000 active soldiers; Pabriks said he wants 30,000 to 40,000 residents with military training, and an international brigade.
The original article contains 212 words, the summary contains 152 words. Saved 28%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Not surprised, Latvia remembers when the USSR just showed up one day and told them they were now a Soviet State.
Right on track for WWIII
Frankly Latvia has a duty to its own citizens to be prepared for the inevitable.
Indeed. If I were a country on the front lines of ww3, I’d rather be a prepared WW2 Finland than a spit roasted WW2 Poland :|
It also has a duty to respect their human rights, as opposed to the slavery of forced recruitment. They do not even fulfill their objective, since with their sexist criteria (another violated right) they ignore half of the population.
Mandatory conscription for a defensive only military is the best solution to defense imo. Professional armies tend to lead to poor young people doing a disproportionate share of the dying and encourage governments to use rhem abroad as they “signed up for it”.
