Latvia’s defense minister has resigned after two Ukrainian drones targeting Russia crossed into the NATO nation last week, with one drone crashing into a fuel storage facility and damaging several empty oil tanks in the country’s east.
The incident, which caused no injuries, was the latest example of drones spilling over from the Russia-Ukraine war into NATO territory, exposing gaps in the alliance’s air defenses as drones take on a more prominent role in warfare but European and NATO militaries remain ill-equipped to fend them off in large numbers.
Drones penetrating NATO airspace have not been treated as attacks on the alliance so far, meaning they have not triggered discussions over a collective response from all 32 members, but the spillovers have pushed the alliance’s members along Europe’s eastern edge to quickly invest in anti-drone defenses.
On Sunday, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina called for Defense Minister Andris Sprūds to leave his post, saying counter-drone systems had not been deployed fast enough.
She said trust in Sprūds’ leadership was “exhausted,” and that the drone incursions last week were the “final straw.”
Why Latvia’s Defense Minister Resigned
Sprūds, an academic who had served as defense minister since September 2023, said in a separate statement that he was stepping back to “protect the Latvian army from being dragged into a political campaign.” He added that the country would continue to beef up its air defenses.
Silina announced that Colonel Raivis Melnis of the Latvian army, whom she described as having “Ukraine experience,” would replace Sprūds.
Sprūds’ resignation makes Latvia the latest NATO member on the eastern flank to see turbulence in top defense roles as pressure to spend more, and invest quickly in defense, surges. Romania and Lithuania also replaced defense ministers late in 2025.
How Ukrainian Drones Crossed Into Latvian Airspace
According to Latvian authorities, two drones crossed into the country’s airspace from Russia last week. One drone struck empty oil tanks at a fuel storage site near the city of Rēzekne, around 25 miles, or 40 kilometers, from the Russian border.
It sparked a small fire, with smoke visibly rising from the site before emergency services extinguished the flames. No casualties were reported.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the drones that violated Latvia’s airspace were Ukrainian-made and aiming for Russian targets.
He said Russia’s electronic warfare systems, which jam or confuse the navigation systems in drones, threw off the unmanned aerial vehicles.
“Our goal is to ensure maximum safety for Latvia, other Baltic states, and Finland,” the Ukrainian official said.
NATO fighter jets assigned to protect NATO airspace in eastern Europe were scrambled, and while Latvia has said its airspace cannot be used to launch attacks on Russia, Baltic states have for years staunchly backed Ukraine’s war effort against Russia.
Other Airspace Violations
A Ukrainian drone homing in on oil infrastructure in western Russia strayed into Latvia in late March, while more drones packed with explosives have landed in the two other Baltic states.
One of the drones careened into the chimney of a power plant in Estonia, and Finnish authorities said a Ukrainian drone armed with a warhead had landed on a frozen lake near its border with Russia.
Just days earlier, Lithuania said a drone had crashed into an ice-covered lake near Belarusian territory.
Most incursions affect Poland and Romania, which border Ukraine. Airspace violations are rarer for the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, which are pressed up against Russia.
Finland, one of NATO’s newest members, shares more than 800 miles of border with Russia.