by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
RIGA/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Latvia’s government collapsed Thursday after Prime Minister Evika Siliņa resigned amid a political crisis triggered by Ukrainian drones crashing inside Latvian territory near the Russian border.
Siliņa stepped down after firing Defense Minister Andris Sprūds over criticism of his handling of incidents involving three drones that entered Latvian airspace on May 7.
The minister’s left-leaning Progressive Party then withdrew support from the governing coalition, leaving the administration without a parliamentary majority months before October’s parliamentary elections.
“Seeing a strong candidate for the post of defense minister… political windbags have chosen a crisis,” Siliņa said Thursday. “I am resigning, but I am not giving up.”
DRONES CRASHED
The political fallout followed the second known drone incident in Latvia this year.
Both Latvia and Ukraine acknowledged that the unmanned aerial vehicles may have been Ukrainian drones intended for targets inside Russia whose signals were reportedly jammed, causing them to veer into Latvian territory.
One drone crashed into the ground while another struck an empty oil storage facility near the eastern Latvian town of Rezekne. A third drone briefly crossed Latvian airspace before leaving again, officials said.
No casualties were reported. However, residents criticized what they described as a slow and inadequate official response in a nation that was once part of the Moscow-led Soviet Union before regaining independence in 1991.
DELAYED ALERTS
Locals told media that Latvia’s emergency cell-broadcast warning system was not activated until about an hour after one drone crashed near Rezekne.
“Something went wrong. We cannot afford for this situation to continue,” Siliņa said after the incidents.
She added that broader concerns within Latvia’s defense sector also contributed to her decision to remove Sprūds from office.
The prime minister noted that Latvia now spends around 5 percent of its gross domestic product on defense, among the highest levels in Europe, which she said required “a much higher level of responsibility toward society… that requires clear results.”
NEW GOVERNMENT TALKS
President Edgars Rinkēvičs said consultations would begin Friday on the “quickest possible formation” of a new government.
Siliņa had led a three-party coalition government since becoming prime minister in September 2023.
Latvia is a member of both the European Union and the NATO military alliance and borders Russia and Belarus, making it strategically important on NATO’s eastern flank.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Latvia — along with fellow Baltic NATO members Lithuania and Estonia — has accelerated military spending and defense preparations amid fears of possible Russian aggression.
REGIONAL TENSIONS
Latvia has also reintroduced compulsory military service and strengthened cooperation with NATO allies stationed in the region.
The outgoing government remained one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters within the European Union and NATO alliance.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Political uncertainty remained Monday in Serbia after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced he would resign within weeks and call early presidential and parliamentary elections following 18 months of student-led anti-government protests.
The Israeli government has unanimously approved a proposal to recognize the mass killing of Armenian Christians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I as genocide, a historic step that acknowledges one of the darkest chapters of Christian suffering in the modern Middle East.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that states may count mail-in ballots received after Election Day, so long as they were sent on or before Election Day, handing a major defeat to the Republican National Committee and President Donald Trump’s administration in a closely watched election-law battle.
Residents of Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, awoke Monday to a fresh aftershock as rescuers raced to find survivors four days after twin earthquakes devastated parts of the country, killing nearly 1,500 people and injuring more than 3,000.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) destroyed a major underground Hezbollah complex in southwestern Lebanon on Sunday, uncovering hundreds of weapons, rocket launch silos, and infrastructure the military said was built with Iranian technology and expertise.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pressing for Turkey’s full integration into Europe’s defense and security framework, arguing that Ankara’s military strength and NATO role make it indispensable to the continent’s future security.
Denmark’s immigration minister wants to ban the Islamic public call to prayer, saying “Islamization” has taken up “too much of the public space” and that parts of the Nordic nation resemble “a suburb of Islamabad.”