Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics has backed opposition lawmaker Andris Kulbergs to replace Evika Silina as prime minister after she resigned over an incident involving Ukrainian drones. Kulbergs leads the United List, the largest opposition bloc in parliament.

Silina fired her defense minister last weekend after two Ukrainian drones strayed into Latvia from Russia and exploded at an oil storage facility. The incident is the latest in a series of such events in NATO members Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania.

Silina said the drone incidents “clearly demonstrated that the political leadership of the defense sector has failed to fulfill its promise of safe skies over our country.” After her coalition partner, The Progressives party, withdrew support, she resigned but vowed to continue fighting.

President Rinkevics settled on Kulbergs after meeting with all parliamentary party representatives. If approved by parliament, Kulbergs will lead an “enlarged coalition” until elections on October 3. He has 10 days to form a government.

On May 7, one Ukrainian drone crashed into a petrol depot in eastern Latvia, causing a fire. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would send experts to help boost Latvia's air defenses.

Source: www.aljazeera.com