Romania reported Saturday that a Russian drone crossed about 10 kilometers into its airspace during attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, the second such incident involving a NATO member in less than a week.
The defense ministry said two F-16s tracked the drone near the village of Chilia Veche in Romania’s Dobruja region. The drone remained in orbit for about 50 minutes before leaving national airspace near Pardina and heading toward Ukraine.
The F-16s had clearance to shoot it down but held fire due to the risk of collateral damage. Officials emphasized that the drone did not fly over populated areas or threaten civilians.
“The Ministry of National Defense firmly condemns the irresponsible actions of the Russian Federation,” the statement read, calling it a threat to regional stability and NATO security.
The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on the incident.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the drone’s entry was intentional, calling it an obvious escalation of the war by Russia. He urged stronger sanctions and increased defense measures against Moscow.
Today, Romania scrambled combat aircraft because of a Russian drone in its airspace. According to current data, the drone penetrated about 10 kilometers into Romanian territory and operated in NATO airspace for around 50 minutes. Also today, Poland responded militarily to the…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 13, 2025
The incident follows Poland’s downing of three Russian drones on Wednesday, the first known NATO shots fired in the conflict. Warsaw has since raised air defenses, and the Czech Republic deployed three Mi-171S helicopters to Poland on Sunday in support.
