Latvia’s State Revenue Service has sent the first batch of cars confiscated for driving under the influence of alcohol to Ukraine to help the country’s war effort. The former owners of the eight vehicles delivered tested positive for alcohol, and the cars will no longer be driven by them. Agendum Group, which is dedicated to delivering cars to devastated cities and fronts in Ukraine, has received the vehicles for distribution.
In February 2022, Agendum delivered more than 900 vehicles to Ukraine and has already provided a total of 1200. Confiscated cars are usually sold, recycled, or dismantled for spare parts, but Latvian authorities thought these vehicles could be used to help Ukrainians. The Latvian Parliament passed an amendment to the law on aid to Ukraine to allow the transfer of state-owned cars.
Latvian authorities have pledged to deliver to Agendum two dozen confiscated vehicles each week for delivery to Ukraine. Latvian media report that the cars will be delivered to Ukrainian Defense Ministry army units, the Vinnytsia Regional Clinical Hospital, and the Kupyansk Council territorial medical association.
According to Reinis Pozniaks of Agendum, each car delivered to Ukraine saves a life. Despite the help provided by the confiscated vehicles, the number of drunk drivers in Latvia is a concern, and Pozniaks describe drunk drivers as undetonated “kamikazes” on Latvian roads.