^{At an improvised rally in Riga on March 14, 2024, dozens of people demanded an end to the transit of manganese ore, leaving their handprints on a banner to remind of the role of this commodity in weapons production and the killings of Ukrainians. Photo: LETA}

Next week the European Commission will propose a ban on manganese ore shipments to Russia, which can be used in the manufacture of arms. Before EU takes decision, Re:Baltica reports who are the main exporters, who will bear the brunt and why Latvian state companies are still in this business.

^{Liepaja Bulk Terminal’s pier at Liepaja port. Photo: Andris Gertsons, Kurzemes Vards}

Re:Baltica for the first time publishes a list of the largest importers of Russian resources in Latvia since Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine. The main commodities are those shipment of which civil society protests against – grain, oil products and metal alloys.

_{As only one third of sanctions imposed on Russia refers also to Belarus, many of the banned goods get to Russia through Belarus. Photo: Latvian-Belarusian border checkpoint at Kaplava in 2021. LETA.}

While the government calls on businesses to “self-cleanse”, Latvia’s export to Russia has shrunk just a little bit after the two years of war. Re:Baltica names the largest exporters for the first time.