Romania on Saturday said a Russian drone violated its airspace, just days after Poland reported similar incursions.
In a statement, the Romanian Defence Ministry said it scrambled two F-16 fighter jets after intercepting a drone breaching its airspace following "Russian air attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure on the Danube". The drone was detected 20km south-west of the village of Chilia Veche, before disappearing from the radar. However, it did not fly over populated areas or pose imminent danger, the ministry revealed.
The defence ministry said it “strongly condemns irresponsible actions of the Russian Federation and emphasises that they represent a new challenge to regional security and stability in the Black Sea area”. It further stressed that “such incidents demonstrate the Russian Federation’s lack of respect for international law”.
Romanian Foreign Minister Toiu Oana also condemned Russia’s move, noting that Bucharest “takes the necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and security.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the incursion as "an obvious expansion of the war by Russia". The Kremlin has not commented on the Romanian claims yet. The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, described the incident as "yet another unacceptable breach of an EU member state's sovereignty".
Poland, whose airspace was breached by around twenty Russian drones on Wednesday morning, also condemned the incursion. "Preventative operations of aviation - Polish and allied - have begun in our airspace. "Ground-based air defence systems have reached the highest state of readiness," Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in a post on X.
Earlier, on Friday NATO sent troops and military aircraft to Poland to bolster defence of its eastern flank following unprecedented Russian incursion into the NATO country. The incursion into Poland was the largest of its kind since the start of Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. On Saturday, Polish and NATO aircraft were again deployed due to renewed Russian drone strikes on western Ukraine. The Kremlin has denied Poland’s accusations that the incursion was “deliberate”.
