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By Matthew Robinson
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Debris from a Russian drone used to attack Ukraine landed in neighboring NATO nation Romania on Thursday, Romania's ministry of national defense said.
The ministry said that Russia carried out a series of drone attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine close to the border with Romania in Tulcea County.
Two F-16 fighter jets took off from the 86th Air Base in Borcea at 00.16 a.m. local time to monitor the situation, it said.
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The ministry added that one drone was diverted by Ukrainian air defenses and entered Romanian airspace, before crashing about 1.2 miles from the town of Parches in an uninhabited area.
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Why It Matters
Russian drones entering the airspace of NATO countries has spooked European leaders for months.
For some, this latest crash will be a fresh reminder of how close Russia's war in Ukraine is to the alliance's eastern flank.
What To Know
Emergency rescue workers deployed to the site of the crash discovered "a portion of burned vegetation and drone debris," Romania's ministry of defence said in the news release.
"No material damage or casualties were reported" and an on-site investigations will be carried out, it added.
Romania has recorded at least 14 cases of Russian drones entering its airspace since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Romanian TV station Digi24 reported.
Romania and Poland, both NATO and European Union (EU) members, reported in September that Russian drones had breached their airspace. At the time, Poland said it shot down at least three Russian drones deep into Polish airspace. Days later, Romania also reported a Russian drone in its airspace.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called those alleged incursions "an obvious expansion of the war by Russia," while EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas spoke of "yet another unacceptable breach of an EU member state's sovereignty."
Russian did not respond publicly to the claims. Its close ally Belarus said the drones which entered Polish airspace did so accidentally after their navigation systems were jammed.
Under a new law last summer, Romania authorised its fighter pilots to shoot down Russian drones in its air space.
Meanwhile, Romania's army has been gradually increasing its defences near the border with Ukraine, with additional troops, radars, and Gepard anti-aircraft systems, Romanian Defense Minister Radu-Dinel Miruță said in January.
What People Are Saying
“We are increasing the air defense in the area—both personnel and technology,” Romanian Defense Minister Radu-Dinel Miruță said in January. “With all the efforts, there is a risk of seeing drones in inhabited areas, but the risk is small. We work with probabilities and with the capabilities available.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in September on Russian drones being recorded in Poland's airspace: "This only reinforces the importance of NATO and the path to which Allies agreed at our Summit in The Hague earlier this year. We need to invest more in our defence, ramp up defence production so we have what we need to deter and defend, and we need to continue to support Ukraine, whose security is interlinked with our own."
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