Romania slams Russia after drone crosses border during Ukraine strike

A Russian drone entered Romanian airspace during a strike on Ukraine, prompting Romanian pilots to scramble their jets. Romania responded with strong criticism of Russia, according to CNN.

Romanian defense officials explained that the drone crossed into Romanian territory late Saturday night, remaining for almost an hour before exiting near the border town of Pardina. Romanian F-16s tracked the drone during its incursion and had authorization to shoot it down, but the pilots chose not to due to concerns about debris falling in a populated area.

Romania described the incident as reckless and stated that it put the region at risk. The government summoned Russia’s ambassador to express its concerns. Moscow has not spoken directly, but Russian state media echoed its ambassador, insisting Ukraine is to blame.

This incident took place only days after similar Russian drones violated Polish airspace. As a result, NATO countries began to strengthen their defenses along the eastern border. Following the Romanian incident, Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, condemned the violation of Romanian airspace as «yet another unacceptable breach of an EU member state’s sovereignty.»