Riga is facing a national security crisis after a series of drones breached Latvian airspace last week, triggering a political upheaval that forced the resignation of Defence Minister Andris Sprūds. The incident, which occurred over the towns of Balvi and Ludza near the eastern border with Russia, exposed deep vulnerabilities in the Baltic state's military readiness and crisis management systems.
On Thursday, several unmanned aerial vehicles entered Latvian territory. According to the Latvian Defence Ministry, two of the drones crashed, while a third sparked a brief fire at an oil depot. No injuries were reported, but residents said they received a text warning about the drones only an hour after the incident began. The government later acknowledged that the drones were Ukrainian in origin, diverted into Latvia from Russia, and that the defence ministry had committed significant failures in detection and response.
A Political Reckoning
Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, of the centre-right Unity party, publicly rebuked the defence leadership. “The drone incident that occurred this week clearly demonstrated that the political leadership of the defence sector has failed to fulfil its promise of safe skies over our country,” she wrote on X on Sunday. The fallout was swift: Sprūds, who had held the post since 2023, resigned the same day. In his own statement, he said: “Is there still much work to be done? Yes. But the Latvian army, together with its allies, is ready today to defend Latvia.”
Mārtiņš Staķis, a Latvian Member of the European Parliament from the Greens group who sits on the EP's Security and Defence Committee, noted that the pre-election period had amplified the political pressure. Siliņa and Sprūds belong to different parties—Unity and the left-leaning Progressives, respectively—making the resignation a matter of coalition dynamics as much as national security. Staķis stressed that rebuilding public trust in Latvia’s crisis response is essential. “Ukrainian drones aimed at legitimate military targets inside Russian territory were redirected toward Latvia as a result of Russian actions,” he said. “What matters now is that work on strengthening Latvia’s defence capabilities continues without interruption.”
The Ministry of Defence has ordered a formal inquiry into the internal response, particularly the failure of the cell broadcast system. The National Armed Forces have been instructed to “immediately” revise border airspace defence plans and raise operational readiness.
Underlying Vulnerabilities
Defence and reform expert Glen Grant, a former British Army Lieutenant Colonel who served as a defence attaché in Latvia, identified several root causes. Latvia’s flat terrain limits ground-based radars to line-of-sight detection, making low-flying drones nearly invisible until they are close. “Ordinary radars that are on the ground are almost limited to line of sight and that means that anything that's low, you can't see until the last minute,” he explained. He also criticised the neglect of Latvia’s crisis management system, which has been developed “extremely slowly” because it was not taken seriously. “There are lots of elements—like the technology system, the warning system and sirens—that are simply not up to the standard that they need to be,” Grant added.
A larger issue is that Riga has donated much of its air defence equipment to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Latvia provided Kyiv with hand-held systems used at battalion and brigade level to spot drones. “Latvia has limited radars, but if drones come in at low levels, then they are under the radars,” Grant said. The contribution has left “the country bereft,” he warned.
NATO and EU Responses
Latvia’s Foreign Minister Baiba Braže visited NATO headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss strengthening air defences, including the integration of modern technologies and closer coordination among allies. Meanwhile, Riga is finalising a €3.49 billion defence loan from the European Union under the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) scheme, part of the EU’s broader push to rearm amid warnings from European intelligence agencies that Russia could threaten the continent by 2030. The loan, pending cabinet approval, is expected to fund acquisitions of drones, guided munitions, and anti-drone hardware. A key component is the purchase of “Blaze” interceptor drones designed to rapidly neutralise aerial threats. “By investing in such cutting-edge technology, Latvia is significantly enhancing its ability to detect and repel drone incursions in the future,” a defence ministry spokesperson said.
The incident underscores the broader challenges facing NATO’s eastern flank, where member states like Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania have long warned about Russian hybrid tactics. As the EU debates its €2 trillion budget, defence spending is surging, but Latvia’s experience shows that money alone cannot fix systemic weaknesses in detection and crisis communication. For now, Riga is racing to restore confidence in its ability to protect its skies—and its citizens.
