Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina has tendered her resignation, dissolving her government following a significant political crisis sparked by Ukrainian drones inadvertently straying into Latvian airspace and the subsequent dismissal of her defense minister. The move plunges the Baltic nation into political uncertainty just months before a scheduled general election in October.

The crisis escalated after two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) crashed in eastern Latvia, leading Silina to dismiss Defence Minister Andris Spruds last week over what she criticized as an inadequate response. In protest of Spruds’s removal, his Progressives party withdrew its support from Silina’s three-party governing coalition, effectively causing its collapse. “Seeing a strong candidate for the post of defence minister… political windbags have chosen a crisis,” Silina stated on Thursday, adding, “I am resigning but I am not giving up.”

The political fallout was directly triggered by the incursion of three drones into Latvian territory on May 7, marking the second such incident since the onset of the ongoing conflict. Authorities in both Latvia and Ukraine have acknowledged the drones were likely Ukrainian UAVs, intended for targets in Russia, but were diverted from their course due to signal jamming. While one drone crashed and another struck an empty oil storage facility near Rezekne without causing casualties, local residents voiced concerns over the delayed and insufficient official response, noting the cell broadcast alert system was not activated for an hour after a crash. Silina herself expressed serious concerns, stating, “Something went wrong. We cannot afford for this situation to continue,” and cited broader issues within the Latvian defense sector as a reason for Spruds’s requested resignation, highlighting the nation’s 5% GDP defense spending and the “much higher level of responsibility toward society.”

Evika Silina, who assumed office in September 2023, has led a government steadfast in its support for Ukraine against Russian aggression. Latvia, alongside its Baltic neighbors Lithuania and Estonia, has expressed growing apprehension regarding potential Russian expansionism, leading to a significant acceleration of its defense capabilities, including the reintroduction of compulsory military service a year after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. President Edgars Rinkevics is expected to announce a decision on the swift formation of a new government on May 15.