Latvian party leader’s father supplied anti-tank barriers to Russia’s Belgorod and occupied Donbas
Julija Stepanenko’s father, Russian businessman Sergey Fedotov, ran companies that sent anti-tank “dragon’s teeth” and other equipment to Russia’s Belgorod region and the occupied Donetsk area.
Latvian politician Julija Stepanenko, head of the Sovereign Power party, has acknowledged that her father, Russian entrepreneur Sergey Fedotov, resides in Russia and financially supports her family, though she has not named him publicly. Fedotov and his relatives own two Moscow-region companies, LLC Forma ZhBI and LLC PLK Forma, which declared on social media that they were manufacturing anti-tank “dragon’s teeth” and shipping them to Russia’s Belgorod region and the occupied Donetsk area, along with supplying stoves to the military.
The companies were visited in August by convicted arms trafficker Viktor Bout during his State Duma campaign for LDPR. Fedotov told investigators he moved all his Latvian holdings to his daughter after the border was closed, and Stepanenko’s tax returns show a Riga apartment and roughly €240,000 in cash from him. Sovereign Power, allied with the Alliance of Young Latvians, is expected to win seats in Latvia’s parliamentary election on October 3, targeting Russian-speaking voters, though analysts doubt it will join the governing coalition.
Why it matters
The revelation links a Latvian election candidate to a supplier of Russian military equipment, raising concerns about foreign influence and security.
How the sides frame it
LOW AGREEMENTLeft-leaning coverage centers on the father’s role supplying anti-tank barriers to Russian forces, while centrist coverage treats the party mainly as a political entity, reviewing its election record and alliances without detailing the arms-related allegations.
LEFT
Exposes the father’s supply of anti-tank barriers to Russia and links to a convicted arms trafficker
CENTER
Profiles the party’s electoral performance and coalition prospects, noting high-profile scandals in general terms
The left emphasises
- father supplied anti-tank “dragon’s teeth” to Belgorod and occupied Donetsk
- companies visited by convicted arms trafficker Viktor Bout
- father financially supports the politician’s family
In this story
