Romania said a Russian drone has breached its airspace, making it the second NATO country to report such an incursion.
According to a press release from Romania’s Ministry of National Defence, an “unmanned aerial vehicle UAV” was spotted in national airspace.
“The UAV did not overfly populated areas and did not pose an imminent threat to the civilian population,” the military press release said.
The drone was detected as Romanian fighter jets were monitoring a Russian attack in Ukraine on the border. It was detected 20km south-west of the village of Chilia Veche before disappearing from the radar.
In a post to X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the drone entering Romanian airspace was “an obvious expansion of the war”.
“The Russian military knows exactly where their drones are headed and how long they can operate in the air,” he said.
Zelenskyy also called for countries to impose extra sanctions on Russia to pressure them into ending the war.
“Tariffs against Russian trade are needed. Collective defence is needed – and Ukraine has proposed to its partners the creation of just such a system of protection,” he said.
This comes after Poland said it had shot down at least three Russian drones that had entered its airspace last week, and said the attack was no mistake.
In response the most recent drone attack, EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas said she is in close contact with the Romanian government.
“The violation of Romanian airspace by Russian drones is yet another unacceptable breach of an EU Member State's sovereignty,” she said.
