Deepest Russian Drone Incursion Over Romania Prompts NATO Air Response
NATO scrambled fighter jets after a drone penetrated deep into Romanian territory, which is seen as a new Russian provocation.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to Reuters.
On Tuesday, Romanian F-16s and German Eurofighters were scrambled to respond to a drone that violated the country's airspace more than 100 km from the border with Ukraine.
Defense Minister Ionut Mostianu said the pilots refrained from shooting down the drone because of the risk of causing damage on the ground, but traces of the drone were later found on Romanian territory.
“My assumption is that (the pilots) analyzed the potential collateral damage and ... chose not to engage,” he said.
This violation was the most serious since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the 13th incident in Romanian airspace.
Romania, which shares a 650 km border with Ukraine, is stepping up its preparedness by deploying a new anti-drone system and conducting training for Romanian and NATO allied forces.
On a visit to Romania's Mihail Kogalniceanu air base, General Christopher Donahue, commander of US Army Europe and Africa, said a new capability that is able to shoot down drones will be deployed to Romania very soon.
In September, Romania experienced a similar incident when a Russian Shahed drone briefly violated its airspace, remaining inside NATO territory for nearly 50 minutes before returning to Ukraine.
The drone was tracked by Romanian F-16s and German Eurofighters, posed no immediate threat to civilians, and did not fly over populated areas. Defense officials noted that such incursions have been occurring almost weekly in the border regions near Izmail, Vilkovo, and northern Dobruja.
Earlier this year, several EU member states faced repeated drone incursions and other covert operations linked to Russia, signaling a pattern of hybrid warfare.
Incidents included MiG fighter breaches over Estonia, drones flying near critical infrastructure in Belgium, Poland, Romania, Denmark, and Germany, as well as cyberattacks on undersea cables, airports, and election systems, all designed to destabilize Europe and weaken support for Ukraine.
Poland, in particular, responded directly by shooting down drones that violated its airspace during Russian attacks on Ukraine, marking the first defensive action of this kind within its territory.
As The Gaze reported earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that Russia is waging a “hybrid war” against Europe, pointing to a surge in drone incursions and other covert operations targeting EU member states.