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ROMANIA’S FOREIGN MINISTER said today that the Russian ambassador to Bucharest has been summoned over the entry of a Russian drone into its airspace during an attack on neighbouring Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Oana Toiu told private TV channel Digi 24 that ambassador Vladimir Lipaev would be summoned to the ministry this evening to “clearly communicate Romania’s protest” over the drone intrusion.
Romania strongly condemned the entry of the drone into its airspace, saying Moscow’s actions pose a “new challenge” to Black Sea security.
Poland had already denounced the intrusion of Russian drones into its airspace, calling on Moscow to avoid further “provocations”. Polish fighter jets scrambled yesterday in response to fresh Russian drone strikes just over the border in Ukraine.
NATO member Romania has had several drone fragments crash on its territory since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022, especially as Russia has steps up attacks on Ukrainian ports.
In a statement following the drone’s entry yesterday, Romania’s defence ministry said it “strongly 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.”
It added that “such incidents demonstrate the Russian Federation’s lack of respect for international law.”
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called the Russian action a “reckless” threat to security.
“The violation of Romanian airspace by Russian drones is yet another unacceptable breach of an EU member state’s sovereignty,” Kallas wrote on X.
“This continued reckless escalation threatens regional security. We stand in solidarity with Romania. I am in close contact with the Romanian government.”
Russia has not yet commented since Romania reported late Saturday that its airspace had been breached by a drone during a Russian attack in neighbouring Ukraine.
The country scrambled two F-16 fighter jets, which “detected a drone in national airspace” and tracked it until it dropped off the radar, the defence ministry said.
In its statement, the ministry said that a “Geran drone used by” Russia had entered Romanian airspace.
It added that the drone “orbited for about 50 minutes, from northeast of (the village of) Chilia Veche to southwest of Izmail, and left national airspace near the town of Pardina, heading towards Ukraine”.
Romania’s fighter jets were “supported by German allies… with two Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft”, which monitored the situation.
The drone did not fly over populated areas and did not pose an imminent threat to the safety of the population, said the statement.
Romania’s Foreign Minister Oana Toiu said on X that she will “raise Russia’s actions at (the) UN General Assembly, urging a strict international adherence to sanctions”.
Toiu told Romanian channel Digi 24 that the Russian ambassador to Bucharest, Vladimir Lipaev, would be summoned over the airspace breach.
In February, the Romanian parliament adopted a law that makes it possible for the country to shoot down drones breaching its airspace.
© Agence France-Presse
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