Romania said on Sunday it was summoning Russia’s ambassador after its military shot down the third drone in as many days, following a series of airspace violations over the Black Sea. The Nato member said a Romanian F-16 fighter jet intercepted the drone five minutes after it entered the country’s airspace, defence minister Radu Miruță said on Facebook.
Romania has experienced frequent drone incursions since Russia launched its 2022 invasion of , but had not shot down any until Friday. Foreign minister Oana Țoiu said the ambassador was being summoned after “repeated violations”.
What happened on Sunday?
On Sunday, a Romanian F-16 fighter jet shot down a drone over the Black Sea, five minutes after it entered Romanian airspace, Miruță said. The action came after Romania had already downed drones on Friday and Saturday.
The Romanian president, Nicușor Dan, said that according to an investigation, a drone shot down on Friday was a “Shahed model used by the Russian Federation in its war of aggression against Ukraine”. Investigations into drones shot down on Saturday and Sunday continued, he added.
“It is unacceptable and intolerable for the Russian Federation to continue violating Romania’s airspace, which is also the airspace of Nato and the European Union,”
Dan said on X.
What did Nato say about the drones?
The drone shot down on Sunday also appeared to be of “Russian origin”, Martin O’Donnel, a senior Nato military spokesperson, said. He added that the downing of the drones came as Romania and other Nato countries were actively acquiring “ground-based interceptors” to increase their air defences.
Romania integrated the US-made Merops counter-drone system into its defences at the end of June. AI-powered, the mobile system is designed to intercept small targets flying at low altitudes.
How often has Romania faced drone incursions?
The country has reported dozens of drone incursions since the start of the Ukraine war. One smashed into a residential building in Galați on the border with Ukraine in May, wounding two people. Romania’s parliament adopted a law in 2025 allowing drones that breach its airspace to be shot down.
Several countries near the Ukraine conflict have shot down drones since the war started.
“repeated violations”
