Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina resigned Thursday after her coalition lost its parliamentary majority following a political row over Ukrainian drones that strayed into Latvian territory.
Latvia’s Prime Minister Evika Silina resigned Thursday after her ruling coalition collapsed over the government’s handling of Ukrainian drones that crossed into Latvian territory, according to Yahoo News.
The drones, on an attack mission targeting Russia, crashed into Latvia on May 7 after reportedly being electronically diverted by Russian forces. One ignited a fire at a disused oil storage site in eastern Latvia.
Silina sacked Defence Minister Andris Spruds on Sunday, citing a failure to deploy anti-drone systems quickly enough. The move backfired when nine members of Spruds’s Progressive party quit the coalition in protest, leaving the government with just 41 of parliament’s 100 seats.
Announcing her departure, Silina said: “The most important thing for me is the wellbeing of Latvians and the security of our country.”
President Edgars Rinkevics will meet party leaders Friday to discuss forming a new government. Ukraine’s President Zelensky has pledged to send defence experts to Latvia and help build “a multi-layered air defence system against different types of threats.”
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