Romania summons Russia’s ambassador after third drone shot down in three days
Romania is summoning Russia’s ambassador after its military shot down a third drone in as many days, with officials calling the violations unacceptable and intolerable.
Romania’s foreign minister, Oana Țoiu, announced the country is summoning Russia’s ambassador over “repeated violations” of its airspace, following the downing of a third drone since Friday.
On Sunday, a Romanian F-16 fighter jet shot down a drone over the Black Sea, five minutes after it entered the country’s airspace, according to defence minister Radu Miruță.
President Nicușor Dan said an investigation confirmed that the drone shot down on Friday was a “Shahed model used by the Russian Federation in its war of aggression against Ukraine”. Investigations into drones downed on Saturday and Sunday are ongoing.
“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 wrote on X.
Senior Nato military spokesperson Martin O’Donnell said the drone shot down on Sunday also appeared to be of “Russian origin”. He noted the downings come as Romania and other Nato countries are actively acquiring “ground-based interceptors” to enhance air defences.
Romania integrated the US-made Merops counter-drone system into its defences at the end of June. The AI-powered mobile system is designed to intercept small targets flying at low altitudes.
Romania has reported dozens of drone incursions since the start of the Ukraine war. In May, a drone smashed into a residential building in Galați on the border with Ukraine, wounding two people.
The country’s parliament adopted a law in 2025 allowing drones that breach its airspace to be shot down. Several countries near the Ukraine conflict have also shot down drones since the war began.
