After the Ukrainian drone incidents - Latvian Defense Minister resigns. Lithuanian Defense Minister with shaking hands talks nonsense that Zelensky should advise us on how to shoot down Zelensky's drones here

On May 10, 2026, Latvian Defense Minister Andris Sprūds announced his resignation after last week's incidents, when drones violated the country's airspace and crashed into an oil storage facility.

 

Key facts:

• Incident: On the night of Wednesday (May 6-7), several drones flew into Latvia from the Russian side, and one of them crashed in Rēzekne, damaging an oil storage facility.

 

• Origin of the drones: According to initial data, they were Ukrainian drones.

 

• Political consequences: Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa stated that A. Sprūdas had lost her and the public's trust due to his late reaction and inability to ensure security. The Lithuanian minister is getting dark, we also need security and a decent resignation.

• New candidate: Colonel Raivis Melnis is proposed to take the post of Minister of Defense.

Minister A. Sprūdas said he was resigning to protect the military from political exploitation.

 

“ELTA Latvian Defense Minister Andris Sprūdas announced his resignation after recent drone incidents in the country's airspace. 

  

At a hastily convened press conference in Riga on Sunday, A. Sprūdas stated that he wants to protect the Latvian military from being exploited for political purposes. Prior to that, Prime Minister Evika Silinia had called for the minister to resign. She wrote on X Platform that A. Sprūdas had lost her and the public's trust. She also announced that she had offered the post of defense minister to Colonel Raivis Melnis, who accepted.

 

Two drones crashed in Latvia on Wednesday night. The country's military believes that they flew into the airspace of the Baltic EU and NATO country from Russia. One drone crashed into an oil storage facility in Rezekne. The tanks were empty, so no one was hurt and there were no casualties.

 

"This week's incident with drones clearly showed that the political leadership of the defense sector has failed to fulfill its promise to ensure the safe airspace of our country," wrote E. Silinia. A. Sprūdas had already received criticism after two previous incidents with drones in Latvia."