Jēkabpils protest against Russian grain transit ends without incident

A protest called "No to blood grain!" was held on Saturday, 7 November, in the Latvian city of Jēkabpils. Participants demand a ban on the transit through Latvia of grain originating in Russia and in occupied Ukrainian territories. The State Police said the event ended without incident.

The prime minister's address

Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs (AS) spoke to those gathered. He described a planned bill to be submitted to the Saeima, Latvia's parliament, which would let the country stop Russian grain transit by barring new contracts from being signed. He said ministries are due to coordinate on the draft next week.

"Transit must be stopped; we do not have to feed Russia's war machine and give money for the destruction of Ukrainians," Kulbergs said, while admitting that a quick solution has not been achieved.

In his view, a ban at the Latvian level alone is not a solution and must be reached together with the European Union (EU). He stressed that setting transit restrictions falls within EU competence and that Latvia must follow the common rules. He also claimed that if Latvia banned grain transit on its own, it would have to expect legal proceedings and costs.

Transit volumes have risen sharply

Data from the State Revenue Service (VID) show that grain transit from Russia through Latvia in the first ten months of this year increased 3.1 times compared with the same period of 2025. This year 1.115 million tonnes of grain were carried in transit from Russia, against 357,645 tonnes a year earlier.

Transit of grain from Belarus has also grown several times over. In the first ten months of this year, 185,756 tonnes passed through Latvia, compared with 60.8 tonnes last year.