The Latvian Prime Minister resigned after dismissing the Defense Minister due to Ukrainian drones violating airspace and crashing into an oil tank, which led a coalition partner to withdraw support and caused the government to collapse.
On 14 May 2026, Evika Silina, the Latvian Prime Minister, announced her resignation following a political crisis triggered by Ukrainian drones intended for Russia accidentally entering Latvian territory and crashing into an oil tank, causing damage.
The incident led Silina to dismiss Defense Minister Andris Spruds the previous week after strongly criticizing his handling of the situation and quickly appoint a replacement.
However, this action prompted the coalition partner, the Progressives party led by Spruds, to immediately withdraw their support for the coalition government, resulting in its collapse just before the general elections scheduled for October.
“Seeing a strong candidate appointed as Defense Minister... good politicians chose to create a crisis instead,” Silina said on Thursday. “I resign, but I will not give up.”
This political fallout stemmed from three drones violating Latvian airspace on 7 May, marking the second such accident since early 2026. Both Latvia and Ukraine acknowledged the drones were likely Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) targeting Russia but were disrupted and strayed into Latvia.
In the latest incident, one drone crashed to the ground, another struck an empty oil depot near the city of Rezekne, and the third flew in and out of Latvian airspace. Although there were no casualties, local residents told the media that government response was delayed and insufficient, with phone alerts arriving an hour late.
After the incident, Silina said, “Something went wrong. We cannot let such situations continue.” She also stated that she had asked Spruds to resign over national defense issues, noting that Latvia spends 5% of its GDP on defense, which she believes comes with “a much higher level of social responsibility… demanding clear results.”
Source:bbc