Welcome to Hard Talk on the BBC World Service with me, Stephen Saka. Today I've journeyed to the small

Baltic state of Latvia, population sum two million, to meet the country's American-born

Prime Minister, Christianish Karinj. His parents fled during the traumatic years of World War II,

just as the Red Army was advancing into Latvia.

Christianis was born in Delaware, educated in the US, but in his early 30s he moved to Latvia

when freedom, democracy and independent nationhood were taking root following the collapse of

the Soviet Union. A career in business was followed by

politics. He served as economics minister, a member of the European Parliament. Then in early

2019, he became prime minister at the head of a complex coalition encompassing centrist's

and the nationalist far right. Russia's military aggression in Ukraine has unsurprisingly made the Baltic states nervous.

Latvia has sent military assistance to Kiev and has received new support from NATO.

But the war has also exposed internal tensions.

More than a quarter of Latvia's population identifies as Russian.

So, has the Ukraine war exposed Latvia's internal and external vulnerabilities?

Well, Prime Minister Christianis Karinj joins me now.

Welcome to Hard Talk. Thank you.

Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine happened six months ago. Right now, here in Latvia, has that war raised the level of fear to new heights? What the war has done has raised the level of mobilization.

So the first effect was a mobilization from the grassroots.

People rallying to the support of Ukraine, citizens, ordinary people coming together

asking what can we do to help Ukraine.

And we've had a mass outpouring.

We have communities making camouflage nets.

...