Latvia’s centre-right Prime Minister Evika Siliņa has resigned after sacking her Defence Minister over the army’s failure to shoot down stray Ukrainian drones. Two Ukrainian drones aimed at Russia accidentally crashed in Latvia last Thursday (7 May), with one exploding at an oil storage unit.
The drones were not detected as they flew in from Russia, the head of the Latvian army said. Siliņa blamed Defence Minister Andris Sprūds for failing to develop anti-drone systems quickly enough and demanded his resignation.
Sprūds resigned on Sunday (10 May) and Siliņa appointed Latvian army colonel Raivis Melnis as the new Defence Minister.
However, in response, Sprūds’ Progressives Party withdrew its support from Siliņa’s coalition government, leaving her without a parliamentary majority.
“I am resigning, but I am not giving up,” Siliņa, who has served as Prime Minister since 2023, said in a televised statement.
Siliņa’s resignation came just months before an election due in October. Right-wing populist party Latvia First is currently leading in the polls, while Siliņa’s New Unity party is trailing in third or fourth place in recent surveys.
Her government will remain in office in a caretaker capacity until a replacement is sworn in. Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs, who is tasked under the constitution with selecting a new head of government, is due to meet all parliamentary parties on Friday.
Latvia and Lithuania called on NATO to strengthen air defences in their countries following last week’s drone incident, in which four empty oil tanks were damaged at a storage site in the Latvian city of Rēzekne, about 40 km (25 miles) from the Russian border.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha blamed “Russian electronic warfare” for “deliberately diverting Ukrainian drones " from targets in Russia.
Ukraine is considering sending experts to help strengthen air security over the Baltic states, Sybiha added.
Several stray Ukrainian military drones struck Latvia and its Baltic NATO neighbours Estonia and Lithuania in late March. One hit a chimney at a local power station, while another crash-landed in a frozen lake before exploding.
AnewZ’s recent reporting from Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates brings audiences closer to the technologies, and the decisions, shaping...
Yemen's Houthis renewed warning to airlines, airport workers, and travellers against using Saudi airports, say...
YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, visited Tashkent on 9 October for a fan event organised by Uzbekistan’s Art and C...
The explosion at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday afternoon killed at least 12 people and injured a further 309, according to Saudi Arabia’s Civil Aviation Authority. The airport remains closed until further notice.
Yemen's Houthis renewed warning to airlines, airport workers, and travellers against using Saudi airports, saying the warning should be taken seriously and that the kingdom “bore responsibility for failed interceptions”, a day after an attack on Riyadh's international airport that killed 12 people.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed surprise after Donald Trump mediated the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement in 2025, the U.S. President said at a rally in New York state on Friday.
The United Nations has condemned a sharp rise in attacks on civilians in Ukraine, reporting that more than 100 people were killed and at least 429 injured in a single week as Russian strikes hit residential areas, passenger buses and critical infrastructure.
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday (9 October) escalating tensions with European allies and potentially targeting companies that provide services to the tribunal. The move came hours after former ICC judge Navi Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Ukraine is ready to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries if Moscow also halts strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
Air France has reportedly informed its pilots and cabin crew of new Israeli restrictions preventing employees holding certain nationalities, including dual nationals, from operating flights to Israel, according to an investigation published by French outlet Mediapart on Saturday.
Nepali authorities urged villagers on Sunday (11 October) to move to safer places after a flood in a river in the central part of the country swept away several houses and infrastructure, but there were no reports of any casualties.
France’s internal police watchdog (IGPN) is investigating 24 cases linked to student protests across the country, including an incident in which a 14-year-old boy suffered a broken jaw and shattered teeth after allegedly being struck by a police projectile.
Pope Leo XIV renewed his condemnation of the death penalty on Saturday (10 October), saying it violated the sanctity of human life and denied people the chance of redemption, days after the Pentagon announced plans to livestream a U.S. military execution.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment