Evika Silina Resigns After Progressives Party Withdraws Support Over Ukrainian Drone Incursions

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina announced her resignation after the Progressives Party pulled support from her government, leaving her without a majority.

“"La gelosia politica e gli interessi ristretti di partito hanno prevalso sulla responsabilità", ha detto la prima ministra © Agenzia Nova - Riproduzione riservata A meno di cinque mesi dalle elezioni politiche, fissate per il prossimo 3 ottobre, è terminata l’esperienza della coalizione di larghe intese a sostegno della prima ministra della Lettonia,Evika Silina,leader della formazione di centrodestra Nuova unità”

Agenzia Nova

Silina said in a televised statement on Thursday, “I am resigning, but I am not giving up,” and the BBC reported she resigned following a political crisis over Russia-bound Ukrainian drones straying into Latvian territory.

Al Jazeera

The dispute was triggered by the incursion of three drones into Latvian airspace on 7 May, when one drone crashed on the ground and another struck an empty oil product storage facility near the town of Rezekne.

The BBC said there were no casualties or injuries, but local residents told media that the official response to the incident had been delayed and insufficient, including that the cell broadcast alert system had not been activated for an hour after one of the drones crashed near Rezekne.

Silina had fired Defence Minister Andris Spruds last week after two drones crashed down in eastern Latvia, and the BBC reported she criticized his response while appointing a replacement.

In a televised statement on Thursday, Silina said, “Seeing a strong candidate for the post of defence minister... political windbags have chosen a crisis,” and the BBC linked the fallout to the incursion of three drones into Latvian airspace on 7 May.

AP News

The Guardian said Silina’s resignation brought down her coalition government months before elections due in October, after the Progressives withdrew support over her decision to fire Sprūds, a Progressives member.

The Guardian also quoted Silina on Sunday that the latest incident “clearly demonstrates that the political leadership of the defence sector has failed to fulfil its promise of safe skies over our country,” as Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said the intrusions were “the result of Russian electronic warfare deliberately diverting Ukrainian drones from their targets in Russia.”

Latvia’s president, Edgars Rinkēvičs, is due to meet all party representatives on Friday for talks on a new government, as the Guardian reported the president is set to meet all party representatives on Friday.

The BBC said Rinkevics would take a decision on the “quickest possible formation” of a new government on 15 May, with Silina’s resignation coming months before general elections due in October.

The Guardian reported that in the most recent incident on 7 May, two drones exploded at an oil storage facility, and it said numerous Ukrainian drones have strayed from Russia into Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia since March.

The Globe and Mail added a separate framing of the same 7 May strike, quoting NATO’s Janis Sarts saying it was more likely an “autonomous decision” of drones that had been programmed to hit Russian oil facilities but, after navigation systems were jammed, chose to strike a similar-looking structure in Latvia instead.