Russian drones violate Romanian airspace almost every week, defense minister says

Romanian Defense Minister Ionuț Moșteanu stated that foreign drones violate the country’s airspace almost every week, local outlet Aktual 24 reports.

“We face challenges from Russia almost every week. We issue statements every time we see them at Romania’s border. The frequency of sightings is increasing: there are drone attacks at Romania’s border, at the northern border of Dobruja. Almost every week we have aircraft in the air, either ours or those of our German partners, who have an advanced air policing mission here.”

Moșteanu added that the troops continue to patrol by helicopter in order to check whether any drones have fallen on Romanian territory.

On Sept. 13, the Romanian Air Force intercepted a drone in its national airspace. Two F-16 fighters were scrambled from the Fetești airbase to monitor the situation at the border with Ukraine following Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian infrastructure along the Danube. Shortly after the drone was spotted, Romanian planes began pursuing it.

According to Moșteanu, the pilots would have downed the Russian UAV, but the drone changed its flight path and left Romanian airspace: “The planes took off and spotted it. They were very close to taking it down, with the drone flying very low. At one point, it headed back toward Ukraine.” The defense minister noted that Romanian pilots had the requisite legal grounds to open fire on a suspicious drone.