"I am resigning, but not giving up," stated Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina on television today. She has led the government since 2023.

Silina's government will continue to operate until a successor is sworn into office. President Edgars Rinkevics, tasked with selecting a government leader, will meet with all parliamentary parties on 15/5.

Prime Minister Evika Silina in Brussels, Belgium in 10/2025. *Photo: AFP*

The resignation stems from an incident last week when Prime Minister Silina dismissed Defense Minister Andris Spruds. She cited a "loss of confidence" from her and the public after two Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) strayed into Latvia, hitting the country's oil tanks and causing a fire. The fire at the oil tanks caused no casualties and was quickly contained, but it sparked outrage in Latvia because the military failed to detect and respond to the UAVs that entered its airspace.

Silina blamed Spruds for not developing adequate anti-UAV systems quickly enough. In response, Spruds' Progressives party withdrew its support for Prime Minister Silina's coalition government on 13/5. This caused her to lose her parliamentary majority and face a potential no-confidence vote.

Prime Minister Silina took office and became the leader of the coalition government after her predecessor Krisjanis Karins, also from the center-right New Unity party, resigned in 8/2023.

In a public opinion poll last month, Progressives ranked second nationally with a 6,9% support rate, surpassing New Unity, which ranked 6th with 5,9% support. The opposition party Latvia First led the poll with an 8,9% support rate. The survey also showed that 26,1% of voters were undecided, and 16,2% stated they did not intend to vote in the 10/2026 election.

Location of the three Baltic states and Russia. *Graphic: BBC*

Several Russian and Ukrainian UAVs have fallen in the three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, since the conflict erupted in 2/2022. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga explained that the UAVs strayed into Latvia due to "Russian electronic warfare measures." President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on 13/5 that Ukraine would send experts to Latvia to help protect its airspace.

By Huyen Le (Reuters)