On Sunday evening, Latvian Defence Minister Andris Sprūds lost his post following last week’s drone incident. The drones entered Latvian territory from Russia. One of them crashed into an oil storage facility and damaged empty tanks.
Earlier, Sprūds had said he was ready to resign if the Saeima decided so. However, on Sunday evening, 12 minutes before the minister’s scheduled press conference, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa announced that she had decided to dismiss Sprūds.
“Defence Minister Andris Sprūds has lost my confidence and the confidence of society. I have decided to demand the resignation of Defence Minister Andris Sprūds. In the future, the defence sector must be led by a professional. Today I informed the minister and our coalition partners about this decision,” she wrote on X.
Later, Sprūds himself said at a press conference that he was stepping down in order to “protect the Latvian army from being drawn into a political campaign.”
It should be noted that Siliņa and Sprūds belong to different parties within the ruling coalition.