Ukrainian drone strike on empty Baltic fuel depot prompts top-level resignation – in Latvia

VIENNA — Latvia’s minister of defense has resigned following a renewed incursion of Ukrainian drones into the country’s airspace, where they hit an empty fuel depot. The incident marks the latest in a series of Baltic NATO airspace violations by misguided Ukrainian drones sent to strike Russian targets far away from Kyiv.

On May 7, two drones entered Latvia from Russian airspace, hitting a fuel depot. Nobody was injured. As early as March of this year, there had been incidents of Ukrainian drones crashing into Baltic allies’ territory, with one hitting a power plant chimney.

Following the latest incident, Latvia’s prime minister, Evika Siliņa, said that defense minister Andris Sprūds had lost her trust and “that of the public,” calling on him to resign. He did so on Sunday, being replaced by Col. Raivis Melnis of the Latvian Army.

Also on Sunday, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, confirmed that the drones that struck Latvia were sent by his country, though not aimed at the Baltic republic. The fact that the drones missed their targets and crashed in friendly territory instead, he said, “was the result of Russian electronic warfare deliberately diverting Ukrainian drones from their targets in Russia.”

When a series of drones hit all three Baltic states earlier this year, there had been speculation that Russian electronic warfare may be to blame, and that Russia was deliberately re-routing the aircraft “back to sender” − but toward Europe.

The new statement by a top Ukrainian official provides the strongest public confirmation yet that this is a tactic employed by Moscow.

So far, there have been no deaths or injuries reported from wayward Ukrainian drones, but the accidental air strikes have laid bare the inadequate state of air defense even at NATO’s most exposed frontier, with the lack of fatalities seemingly mostly a matter of luck.

In Thursday’s strike, which took place 40 kilometers into Latvian territory from the Russian border, four empty oil storage tanks were damaged, and firefighters had to extinguish a smoldering area of around 30 square meters. Schools in Rēzekne were closed, air raid alerts were declared across three municipalities, and residents reported hearing explosions. French NATO Baltic Air Policing jets were scrambled during the alert.

Latvian officials initially said the drones were not shot down because the safety of civilians and infrastructure could not be guaranteed. Sprūds then reversed that stance entirely, saying: “Drones must be shot down — that’s the responsibility of the head of the Armed Forces and myself, as the political leader.”

As in March, the Baltic states have used the incident to call for stronger air defense measures. Latvia and Lithuania jointly called on NATO to boost regional air defenses in the wake of the May 7 strike, with Lithuania’s defense minister Robertas Kaunas appealing to NATO that “Strengthening anti-drone defense in our region should be a particular emphasis, and additional capabilities are welcome here.”