Riga to turn off festive lights in support of Ukraine

RIGA - In a show of solidarity with Ukraine, Riga will hold Light for Ukraine action in which the Latvian capital city will briefly turn off festive lights in City Hall Square, LETA was told at the Ukrainian Embassy. 

Representatives of the embassy noted that at a time when streets in many cities of the world are decorated with Christmas lights, Ukraine is seeing the hardest of times in complete darkness, as Russia is shelling Ukrainian cities and towns. Last week, Russia staged one of the worst attacks, hitting Ukrainian energy infrastructure and leaving more than 10 million people without power. 

Using missiles and Iranian drones, the aggressor has destroyed nearly 50 percent of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which has led to outages in every region of the country and left households, businesses, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure without power, heating, internet connections and water.

To support the Ukrainian people in this difficult time, on Thursday, December 22, the festive lighting of the City Hall building and Christmas Tree in the City Hall Square will be switched off for ten minutes at 16:30. The solidarity action will take place with the participation of Riga Mayor Martins Stakis, representatives of the city council and the Ukrainian Embassy in Latvia.