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Latvian center-right Prime Minister Evika Silina announced her resignation connected Thursday (May 14, 2026), aft the Progressives Party, her left-leaning conjugation partner, pulled enactment from the authorities and near her without a majority.
Her resignation came aft Latvia’s Defense Minister Andris Spruds, from the Progressives Party, was forced to resign past week implicit the government’s handling of aggregate incidents involving stray drones suspected to beryllium from Ukraine crossing into Latvian territory. Ms. Silina said astatine the clip Mr. Spruds had mislaid her spot and that of the public.
The drones incidents "clearly demonstrated that the governmental enactment of the defence assemblage has failed to fulfill its committedness of harmless skies implicit our country,” Ms. Silina said connected Sunday (May 10, 2026), explaining Mr. Spruds' resignation.
On May 7, 2 suspected Ukrainian drones entered Latvia, 1 of them crashing astatine a substance retention facility. Mr. Spruds said they were apt Ukrainian drones targeting Russia, which ended up successful Latvia by mistake.
Multiple Ukrainian drones headed for Russia had deed the territories of the 3 countries successful the Baltic portion since March. Critics accidental the incidents person shown weaknesses successful Latvia's quality to respond to subject threats.
The Latvian governing tripartite coalition, which besides included an agrarian party, had been nether strain for months implicit aggregate issues.
Ms. Silina's resignation comes conscionable months up of wide elections owed successful October.
“My precedence has ever been, and remains, the well-being and information of Latvia’s people,” Ms. Silina wrote connected X connected Thursday. “Parties and coalitions change, but Latvia endures. And my work to nine comes supra each else.”
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics, tasked with appointing a caller caput of government, is acceptable to conscionable with representatives of each parliamentary parties connected Friday (May 15, 2026).
On Sunday, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the incidents successful Latvia were “the effect of Russian physics warfare deliberately diverting Ukrainian drones from their targets successful Russia.” He offered Ukraine's assistance to the Baltic states and Finland to forestall specified incidents successful the future.
