Siliņa declared her resignation at a press conference in Riga, saying, “The most important thing for me is the well-being of our citizens and the security of our country.” She noted that Russia’s war in Ukraine has reshaped Europe’s security landscape.

Her government was already facing a looming no-confidence vote, as the center-right coalition lost its fragile majority after members of the Progressive Party—linked to Defense Minister Sprūds—broke away. President Edgars Rinkēvičs signaled Wednesday that he would meet all parliamentary parties on Friday to discuss the crisis. Without the nine Progressive deputies, Siliņa was left with 41 seats out of 100, compared to 47 for the opposition.

The crisis stems from several drone incidents in Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania since Russia’s invasion in 2022. On May 7, two Ukrainian drones crossed into Latvia, likely disrupted by Russian air defenses. One struck an oil storage facility in Rēzekne, sparking a fire quickly contained by emergency services. Another Ukrainian drone had crashed in Latvia earlier on March 25.

Following these incidents, Siliņa demanded Sprūds resign, which he did Monday despite his party’s defense of him. She proposed appointing a military official as his successor, but the Progressives rejected the idea.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced after meeting his Latvian counterpart at the Bucharest summit that Ukraine would send experts to assist Latvia’s air defense. He posted on X: “We will send our experts to Latvia to share experience and provide direct assistance in protecting Latvian airspace.” Zelensky added that Ukraine intends to sign an agreement with Latvia to build a multi-layered air defense system.

President Rinkēvičs confirmed that Ukrainian experts and equipment would contribute to upgrading Latvia’s air defense capabilities, with a long-term cooperation agreement in preparation.