By Andrius Sytas
VILNIUS (Reuters) – Latvian member of parliament Juris Jurass has joined the fight against Russian forces in Ukraine, his party said on Tuesday.
Jurass, 46, heads parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee.
“He is in Ukraine. He has joined the fighters for freedom in Ukraine. That was his personal decision, and I fully respect it,” Janis Bordans, justice minister and chairman of the New Conservative Party, part of the governing coalition, told Reuters.
Bordans declined to provide more information for safety reasons.
Ukraine has established an “international” legion for people from abroad and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has publicly urged foreigners to fight side-by-side with Ukrainians to show support for his country.
Last week, Zelenskiy said that more than 16,000 foreigners had volunteered, without specifying how many had arrived.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; Editing by Alison Williams)
