Silina stepped down Thursday after her coalition lost its parliamentary majority when the Progressive party withdrew support over her firing of Defence Minister Andris Spruds.
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Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina announced her resignation Thursday in a televised statement, saying "I am resigning, but I am not giving up." The announcement came after her ruling coalition lost its parliamentary majority when the left-wing Progressive party withdrew its support Wednesday.
Silina, of the center-right New Unity party, had headed Latvia's governing coalition since 2023. The political crisis stemmed from her decision to fire Defence Minister Andris Spruds, a member of the Progressives, over his handling of incidents involving stray Ukrainian drones entering Latvian airspace.
Three drones crossed into Latvian territory on May 7, marking the second such incursion since the start of 2026. Two of the drones crashed in eastern Latvia. Silina removed Spruds from his position and appointed a replacement, citing criticism of his response to the incidents.
In protest of Spruds's removal, the Progressive party withdrew its coalition support, leaving Silina's government without a ruling majority in parliament. The collapse occurred months before a planned general election scheduled for October.
During her resignation statement, Silina criticized the political response to the crisis. "Seeing a strong candidate for the post of defence minister... political windbags have chosen a crisis," she said.
The stray drones originated from Ukraine and were traveling toward Russian territory. The flight path from Ukraine runs along Latvia's eastern border. Officials said drone defense systems can scramble the vehicles' navigation. Two major Russian oil facilities in the Baltic are located near the borders to Estonia and Latvia, in the region where the drones entered Latvian airspace.
Both Latvia and Ukraine acknowledged that the drones may have been affected by defense systems during their flight.
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