Latvia's PM Evika Silina Resigns After Coalition Partner Quits Over Stray-Drone Incidents

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina, in office since 2023, announced her resignation on 14 May 2026 (Newsweek dated the announcement 15 May) after the left-leaning Progressives party withdrew its support, stripping her government of a parliamentary majority. The proximate trigger was a series of stray-drone incidents: on 7 May 2026 two suspected Ukrainian drones entered Latvian airspace, one crashing at a fuel-storage facility (reported near Rezekne).

Defence Minister Andris Spruds, a Progressives member, had resigned days earlier over the government's handling of repeated drone incursions—part of a pattern of Ukrainian drones crossing into Baltic and Nordic airspace en route to Russian targets since March 2026. Silina said the episodes 'clearly demonstrated that the political leadership of the defence sector has failed' to keep the skies safe, and framed her own decision as difficult, adding 'I am resigning, but I am not giving up.' As a NATO member, Latvia saw the incursions expose air-defence gaps without triggering a collective alliance response; Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv's goal was 'maximum safety' for the Baltic states and Finland.

President Edgars Rinkevics was tasked with designating a new prime minister. The resignation came only months before general elections due in October 2026, raising the prospect of a caretaker arrangement or an early reshaping of the governing coalition in the interim.