Febuary 25, 2022

Adazi Military Base, Latvia, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The presence of U.S. and other NATO troops (click here) in Latvia sends a message to Vladimir Putin that Russia should stay away, Latvian Defence Minister Artis Pabriks said on Friday as he greeted a small deployment of U.S. soldiers.

The group of some forty U.S. service members arrived from Italy early on Thursday - before hostilities in Ukraine began. The deployment is expected to grow to more than 300 soldiers.

"We are a small country. We are ready to do whatever is needed to defend ourselves. We are not afraid to die for that. But we might be overwhelmed, so this is very much why we welcome you here," Pabriks told the troops in Adazi military base on Friday.

Russia invaded Ukraine by land sea and air on Thursday after massing more than 150,000 troops around the country's borders including in Latvia's neighbour Belarus....