Latvia’s former defence minister Andris Sprūds told Euronews there is no “silver bullet” for stopping rogue drones, insisting he had been “realistic” about the limits of Latvia’s air defence after a week of political tensions leading to the resignation of the Prime Minister.
“I have always said that it is difficult to deal with drones which have lost their trajectory,” he told the Europe Today programme.
Sprūds resigned on Sunday after Latvia’s Prime Minister Evika Siliņa demanded he step down over a major security breach and the political firestorm that followed.
Last Thursday, several drones entered Latvian airspace and crashed in the eastern Latgale region, near the communities of Balvi and Ludza, close to the Russian border. One drone struck an oil storage facility, sparking a small fire.
No civilians were injured, but residents complained that emergency alerts arrived nearly an hour after the incident.
The incidents “clearly demonstrated that the political leadership of the defence sector has failed to fulfil its promise of safe skies over our country,” Siliņa said on Sunday, explaining Sprūds’ resignation.
But the crisis quickly spiralled into a broader political meltdown. On Thursday, Siliņa herself resigned after her coalition collapsed amid disputes over the government’s handling of the drone incidents.
Latvia’s political elite have blamed Russia for electronically diverting Ukrainian drones into Baltic airspace, while critics at home accused Sprūds of leaving the country exposed.
In recent weeks, multiple drones believed to have been targeting Russia have crossed into Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian territory, fuelling fears over the Baltics’ readiness to respond to military threats.
Jānis Sārts, director of the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence, warned on the social media platform X that Latvia had become “more vulnerable” to external threats amid the political turmoil.
Asked by Euronews whether the delayed response to the drone incursions was ultimately his fault, Sprūds said he accepted “political responsibility” for safeguarding Latvia’s defences.
However, he argued the country must now focus on strengthening its resilience against future crises “that are coming”.
“There are questions about what we can do now and how we can do it,” he said.
“At the same time, we are moving forward with our air defences.”
Sprūds warned that hostile foreign actors could seek to exploit Latvia’s political instability ahead of parliamentary elections in October.
“There is manipulation by the aggressor country – by the neighbouring country – whose intentions we know and are aware of,” he said, referring to Russia.
On Sunday, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the incidents were “the result of Russian electronic warfare deliberately diverting Ukrainian drones from their targets in Russia.”
He offered Ukraine’s assistance to Latvia, Finland, and the wider Baltic region to help prevent similar incidents in future.
Latvia is in the process of finalising a €3.49 billion defence loan from the European Union (EU) as part of the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) scheme.
A spokesperson for the Latvian Defence Ministry said Riga’s cabinet is in the process of finalising the package, which would be used to bolster air defences.
Watch the full interview on Friday as part of Euronews’ flagship morning show Europe Today.
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