Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds resigned after two Ukrainian drones flying from Russia struck oil storage facilities on Thursday, May 8.
He wrote about this on his page on the social network X.
“I have decided to resign from the position of Minister of Defense in order to protect the Latvian Army from being drawn into a political campaign,” the minister said in a statement.
Spruds stressed that the development of the defense sector is his political responsibility. According to his assessment, Latvia's defense capabilities are at a high level, although “there is still a lot of work to be done.” “Unfortunately, it is obvious that this situation is no longer used only to criticize the minister or his party. It is used to question Latvia's defense capabilities, to question the readiness of the Ministry of Defense, the National Armed Forces – Latvian patriots who work every day for the security of Latvia. This is unacceptable to me,” he added.
Earlier, on May 10, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silinja demanded his resignation, saying that anti-drone systems were not deployed quickly enough.
“This week's drone incident clearly demonstrated that the political leadership of the defense sector has failed to deliver on its promise to ensure safe airspace over our country. The public has entrusted this sector with the largest funding in history – almost 5% of GDP. This is a huge responsibility that demands clear results,” she wrote in X.
Evika Silina also reported that Latvian Army Colonel Raivis Melnis has been appointed as the new Minister of Defense.
Latvia and Lithuania have called on NATO to strengthen air defenses in their region after two drones violated Latvian airspace from Russia and fell into the country's territory.
On the night of May 7, unidentified drones violated Latvian airspace from Russia. The country's air force reported the downing of two drones.
The Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian chargé d'affaires to deliver a note of protest condemning the incident involving the downing of drones on the country's territory.
Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds said he takes responsibility for the drones not being shot down. He also confirmed that he would respect the Seimas' decision regarding his possible resignation.