Romania’s Foreign Ministry urgently summoned Russian Ambassador Vladimir Lipaev on Sunday after Romanian fighter jets intercepted and shot down a third unauthorized drone over national airspace in three days, marking a sharp escalation in tensions along NATO’s eastern flank.
The latest engagement occurred Sunday morning when a Romanian F-16 fighter jet intercepted and destroyed an unmanned aerial vehicle over Romanian territorial waters near Sulina–Chilia.
The downing follows similar aerial interceptions on Friday in Buzău County and Saturday near Sfântu Gheorghe. Foreign Minister Oana Țoiu condemned the persistent airspace breaches as “unacceptable and intolerable,” confirming that a formal diplomatic protest will be issued following investigations by prosecutors, which confirmed Friday’s destroyed target was a Russian-made Shahed drone.
NATO spokesperson US Army Colonel Martin O’Donnell and regional leaders voiced growing concern over the repeated incursions into alliance airspace, warning that Russia’s ongoing long-range strikes against neighboring Ukraine risk further entangling neighboring European nations.
