A Russian drone that penetrated Romanian airspace during an attack on neighboring Ukraine lingered above the NATO nation for 50 minutes before swerving back toward Ukraine, Romania's Defense Ministry said on September 14.
Two Romanian F-16 fighter jets intercepted the Geran drone and tracked its movement over Romania the previous evening through intermittent visual and radar contact, the ministry said in a statement.
The F-16 pilots received authorization from their commanders to shoot at the drone but "they assessed the collateral risks and decided not to open fire," the statement said.
The incursion added to tensions over Russian incursions into NATO airspace after Poland shot down several of the nearly 20 Russian drones it said crossed into its territory on September 10.
That was the first time NATO forces have fired shots since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022, badly aggravating already tense times between Moscow and the Western military alliance.
The Romanian Defense Ministry said it "firmly condemns the irresponsible actions of the Russian Federation and emphasizes that they represent a new challenge to regional security and stability in the Black Sea area."
"Such incidents demonstrate the Russian Federation's lack of respect for the norms of international law and endanger not only the safety of Romanian citizens, but also the collective security of NATO," it said.
European European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the drone incursion "a blatant violation of EU sovereignty and a serious threat to regional security," adding that the EU is working with Romania and other member states "to protect the EU territory."
German forces based in Romania deployed two Eurofighter Typhoon fighters to monitor the area for several hours after the incursion, the Defense Ministry said.
Defense Minister Ionut Mosteanu told RFE/RL on September 13 that the drone left Romanian airspace and did not fall on Romanian territory.
The Defense Ministry said the drone entered Romanian airspace following Russian air strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure on the Danube, which forms part of the border between the two countries on Black Sea. It said it did not fly over populated areas and did not pose an imminent threat.
