Romania has reported a Russian drone violated its airspace, marking the second such incident involving a NATO member state.
According to a statement from the Romanian defence ministry, Romanian fighter jets were actively monitoring a Russian aerial assault within Ukraine on Saturday and successfully tracked the drone as it approached Ukraine’s southern border.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky characterized the incursion as deliberate, stating it “an obvious expansion of the war by Russia” and dismissing the possibility of a mistake. Moscow has yet to issue a response to the Romanian allegations.
Earlier in the week, on Wednesday, Poland reported intercepting and downing at least three Russian drones that had breached its airspace.
The Romanian defence ministry’s statement detailed that the Russian drone was detected while two F-16 jets were conducting surveillance along the Romanian-Ukrainian border, following “Russian air attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure on the Danube”.
The drone was identified approximately 20km (12.4 miles) southwest of the village of Chilia Veche, before subsequently disappearing from radar surveillance.
The ministry clarified, however, that the drone’s trajectory did not involve populated areas and did not pose an immediate threat.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, condemned the incident as “yet another unacceptable breach of an EU member state’s sovereignty”.
Poland also addressed concerns regarding Russian drone activity on Saturday.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on X that “Preventative operations of aviation – Polish and allied – have begun in our airspace,”.
He added that “Ground-based air defence systems have reached the highest state of readiness.”
Earlier this week, Russia’s defence ministry stated that there were “no plans” to target facilities on Polish territory.
Belarus, a close ally of Russia, attributed the drone incursions into Polish airspace on Wednesday to accidental navigation errors resulting from jammed systems.
On Sunday, the Czech Republic announced the deployment of a special operations helicopter unit to Poland.
The unit is composed of three Mi-171S helicopters, each capable of transporting up to 24 personnel and equipped for combat operations.
Czech Defence Minister Jana Cernochova stated that this deployment is a direct response to Russia’s incursions into NATO’s eastern flank.
In response to the latest drone incursion, President Zelensky emphasized that the Russian military “knows exactly where their drones are headed and how long they can operate in the air”.
He has consistently urged Western nations to implement stricter sanctions against Moscow.
US President Donald Trump also commented on the airspace breaches earlier in the week, stating his readiness to impose more stringent sanctions on Russia, contingent upon NATO member states meeting certain conditions, such as ceasing the purchase of Russian oil.
Russia initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and has been making slow progress on the battlefield.
Trump has been spearheading efforts to bring an end to the war, but Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine since President Vladimir Putin returned from a summit with Trump in Alaska last month.
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