Latvian defence minister resigns following recent drone incursions that hit oil facilities

Published on 11/05/2026 - 9:27 GMT+2

Latvian Defence Minister Andris Spruds resigned connected Sunday pursuing a caller incursion by 2 Ukrainian drones into the Baltic country's territory.

Latvia's Prime Minister, Evika Silina, had called for Spruds's resignation, penning connected X that helium had "lost (her) spot and that of the public."

Silina said anti-drone systems had not been deployed rapidly capable to antagonistic Thursday's incursion.

"The drone incidental that occurred this week intelligibly demonstrated that the governmental enactment of the defence assemblage has failed to fulfill its committedness of harmless skies implicit our country," Silina wrote.

"That is an tremendous work that demands wide results," she added, emphasising the country's relation arsenic 1 of NATO's highest spenders successful comparative terms, with the state allocating astir 5% of its GDP to defence.

On Thursday, 2 drones crossed implicit the Russian borderline into Latvia. A occurrence concisely broke retired astatine an lipid depot, but was rapidly brought nether power by firefighters, according to the nationalist police.

Ukrainian overseas curate Andrii Sybiha said that the drones had flown into Latvia arsenic a effect of "Russian physics warfare." Latvia and Lithuania called connected NATO to fortify its aerial defence.

"As agelong arsenic Russian aggression against Ukraine continues, it is imaginable that specified incidents volition beryllium repeated, erstwhile a overseas unmanned craft enters Latvian airspace oregon approaches it," the service said aft the incursion.

Colonel Raivis Melnis is present acceptable to instrumentality the presumption of defence minister, Silina said.

Several drones from Russia and Ukraine person crashed successful the trio of Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, since Russia invaded Ukraine successful February 2022.