Latvian Defense Minister Andris Sprūds resigned on Sunday, after two Ukrainian drones on Thursday flew in from Russia and hit oil storage facilities.
On May 7, according to a preliminary investigation by Latvia’s State Police, two drones struck an empty oil storage facility in Rēzekne in the east of the country after crossing the Russian border.
The incident was the latest in a series of airspace incursions by Ukrainian drones in the Baltic states and Finland as Kyiv continues to attack Russia’s oil exporting facilities on the Baltic coast.
Earlier on Sunday, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa demanded Sprūds resignation, saying anti-drone systems had not been deployed fast enough.
Party politics
In a public statement, Sprūds said that he had stepped down from the role to “protect Latvia’s army from divisive political campaigning,” Latvia’s public broadcaster LSM reported.
He said that a lot of work had taken place to improve the country’s defenses, including in air defense.
The politician claimed that calls for his resignation were part of a “systematic campaign” against his Progressives political party because it refused to toe the line and questioned long-established norms, LSM wrote.
Sprūds also said his party would meet soon to consider its future in the three-party ruling coalition.
Siliņa has appointed Latvian army colonel Raivis Melnis as the new defense minister. LSM said he has been acting as an adviser to the prime minister since February.
Baltics ask NATO for help
Latvia and Lithuania on Thursday called on NATO to boost air defenses in their region after the drones came over the Russian border and exploded at an oil storage facility in Latvia.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha on Sunday said on X that the drones were Ukrainian, and flew into Latvia as a result of “Russian electronic warfare deliberately diverting Ukrainian drones from their targets in Russia.”
In response to the drone incidents, Ukraine is considering sending experts to help strengthen air security over the Baltic states, Sybiha said on Friday.