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Why did Latvia's government fall over drones?
Summary
A look back at the political fallout in Latvia and Russia's border regions in mid-May 2026, as drone incursions and cross-border attacks reshaped governments.
What happened to two governments' footing when drones strayed across borders? On 15 May 2026, the question was fresh in both Riga and Moscow, after two days of political upheaval linked to the Russo-Ukrainian war.
On 14 May, Latvian prime minister Evika Siliņa resigned. She had lost her majority in the Saeima one day earlier, over the handling of Ukrainian drone incursions into Latvia's airspace.
The incursions were part of a wider pattern. In March and May 2026, several Ukrainian or suspected Ukrainian military drones entered the airspace of NATO member states in the Baltic region, including the Baltic states and Finland, after crossing from Russia. The incidents came during a wider Ukrainian campaign against Russian oil export infrastructure, including repeated drone strikes on the ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk.
Changes on the Russian side
A day before Siliņa's resignation, on 13 May, Russian president Vladimir Putin replaced the governors of two border regions. In Belgorod, army general Alexander Shuvaev took over from Vyacheslav Gladkov. In Bryansk Oblast, former occupation official Yegor Kovalchuk replaced Alexander Bogomaz. The changes came amid continuing cross-border attacks.
The two sets of events were separate in their mechanics: one a parliamentary collapse in a NATO and EU member state, the other a presidential reshuffle in Russia. Yet both stemmed from the same cause, a war whose long-range strikes were being felt well beyond the front line.
By 15 May 2026, Latvia faced the task of forming a new government, while the two Russian border regions had new governors.
