Skip to playerSkip to main content
  • 6 hours ago
European countries are finding creative ways to support Ukraine's war effort. Latvia has been donating thousands of cars, including vehicles confiscated from drunk drivers.
Transcript
00:00These cars in Latvia are being loaded with donations for Ukraine.
00:04Socks, food, and other supplies desperately needed by the armed forces.
00:10And the biggest donation? The cars themselves.
00:14But many of these cars come from somewhere you might not expect.
00:19They come from here, the state impound lot on the outskirts of the capital, Riga.
00:25And many of them were repossessed from drunk drivers.
00:28Since 2022, if you're caught driving over three times the legal alcohol limit, you lose your car.
00:37Not even tourists are exempt from this.
00:40And in 2023, Latvia passed another law allowing those cars to be donated to the Ukrainian army.
00:48The government estimates half of all the cars delivered originally came from drunk drivers.
00:56We joined the police to see how often they find someone driving under the influence.
01:02After all, Latvia has one of the highest rates of intoxicated driving in the entire European Union.
01:11Every other shift, I come across at least one.
01:16It depends on the blood alcohol level.
01:19Sometimes it's less than 1.5 ppm, sometimes more than that.
01:26This driver is caught speeding and gets pulled over.
01:30As with all stops, he is required to take a breathalyzer test.
01:35He's clean, but still gets a ticket for speeding.
01:40After this, we go outside the city, where the cars are lined up and ready for the long journey.
01:47Laura Plitscha, one of the organizers, thinks Latvians have good reason to keep supporting Ukraine, four years on.
01:55Latvian people are amazing.
01:58They still hold on and help and donate cars and donates fuels and socks and whatever.
02:06So nothing has stopped.
02:09Latvia spent much of its history under Russian occupation, a history which motivates many to help Ukraine today.
02:18Usually these people who are donating cars, I think someone in their family has been deported.
02:25And they know from historically how it is.
02:28And so they feel sympathy to Ukrainian people.
02:32And if they can, they donate.
02:34We have unwritten promise that we are together with the Ukrainian people until the victory.
02:43And this is the convoy that leaves every Friday night from Latvia, through Lithuania, through Poland and to Ukraine.
02:52And with the war entering its fifth year now, Latvians show no sign of losing support for Ukraine.
03:00However, what is their calling in the following phase, whether or not it's
Comments
1
Karen Morse5 hours ago
Thank you. Slava Ukraine 🇺🇦💙💛🇺🇦

Recommended