Latvia: Prime Minister resigns following political crisis caused by Ukrainian drones

“I announce my resignation from the post of Prime Minister.” The Latvian Prime Minister, Evika Silina, made her departure official on Thursday during a press conference. A decision which results from a political crisis, caused by the recent intrusion of Ukrainian drones on national territory.

On May 7, two Ukrainian aircraft which crossed the Russian border to crash in Latvia, probably after their guidance system was jammed by Russian air defense. One of them hit an oil storage site in Rezekne, in the east of the country. A fire broke out, quickly contained by the firefighters. Another Ukrainian drone crashed on March 25.

The Minister of Defense as a “fuse”

Although these incidents caused neither casualties nor significant material damage, they exposed the deficiencies of the country’s air defense. Prime Minister Evika Silina then called for the departure of her Defense Minister, Andris Spruds, belonging to the Progressives party, a member of the center-right government coalition in power since 2023.

The latter was defended by his party, which accused the head of government of having used him as a fuse. The nine “progressive” deputies thus defected and the Silina government lost its narrow majority with 41 seats out of 100, against 47 for the opposition. An untenable situation for the Prime Minister.

Evika Silina had proposed the appointment of a soldier to replace the Minister of Defense, but this proposal was rejected by the Progressives. She castigated Thursday “a political posture” a few months before the legislative elections scheduled for October.

Current affairs

“The most important thing for me is the well-being of Latvians and the security of our country […]. We are fully aware of the times we all live in. Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine has changed the security situation across Europe,” the Prime Minister explained.

Another sign of weakness, the Minister of Agriculture Armands Krauze, of the Alliance of Greens and Farmers, was briefly arrested on Thursday as part of an investigation carried out by the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB), which further weakened Evika’s cabinet Silina.

Progressives applauded the Prime Minister’s decision, declaring themselves ready to participate in discussions on the creation of a new government. President Edgars Rinkevics has already announced that he will receive all the parties represented in Parliament on Friday. While awaiting the vote for a new cabinet by parliament, the Silina government will manage current affairs.

Ukraine sends its experts

Several Russian or Ukrainian drones have crashed in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, former Soviet republics bordering Russia and Belarus since the start of the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. kyiv is targeting Russian targets in the Gulf of Finland, including ports and refineries, but the drones can turn out to be defective or diverted by Russian air defense and crash into the territory of its allied countries.

Following an interview on Wednesday with Edgars Rinkevics, during a summit in Bucharest, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he was going to send experts to Latvia to help with air defense. “We will send our experts to Latvia to exchange experience and provide direct assistance in protecting Latvian airspace,” he said on social media.

“We intend to sign an agreement with Latvia in the Drone Deal format in order to build a multi-layer air defense system against different types of threats,” he said, deeming it “important to work together to strengthen the defense of Europe.”