Latvia's center-right Prime Minister Evika Silina announced her resignation today, leading to the collapse of her coalition government just months before elections scheduled for October.
"I resign, but I don't give up," said Silina, who has been prime minister since 2023, in a televised address.
Silina's government will remain in a caretaker capacity until her successor is elected. Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs, who is constitutionally responsible for selecting a prime minister-designate, will meet with all parliamentary parties tomorrow.
Silina dismissed Defense Minister Andris Spruds over the weekend after two errant Ukrainian drones flew into Latvia from Russia and exploded at an oil storage facility, the latest in a series of similar incidents in NATO members Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.
The drones were not detected by the Latvian military as they flew in from Russia, the army chief said, and Silina accused Spruds of not developing anti-drone systems quickly enough.
In response, Spruds' Progressive Party withdrew support for Silina's government on Wednesday, leaving it without a majority in parliament and exposing it to a possible no-confidence vote.
Silina came to power at the head of a broad coalition after the resignation of Krišjanis Karinš, also from her center-right New Unity party, in August 2023.
In a SKDS/LSM opinion poll conducted last month, the Progressives were the second most popular party in the country with 6,9 percent of voter support, ahead of New Unity, which was sixth with 5,9 percent support.
The opposition party Latvia in First place was leading the poll, with 8,9 percent support. The survey showed 26,1 percent of voters were undecided, while 16,2 percent said they did not intend to vote.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Wednesday that Ukraine will send experts to Latvia to help protect the country's skies.
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