A newly recorded incursion of a Russian drone into Romanian airspace marks “yet another unacceptable breach of an EU member state’s sovereignty,” the EU’s chief diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Sunday, branding it a “reckless escalation.”
“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,” she said, adding that Brussels was in close contact with the Romanian government.
Romania on Saturday evening scrambled two F-16 fighter jets after a drone crossed into its airspace during a Russian strike on Ukrainian infrastructure near the border around the Danube region, the country’s defence ministry said.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the drone had pierced “about 10 kilometres into Romanian territory and operated in NATO airspace for around 50 minutes.”
“It is an obvious expansion of the war by Russia – and this is exactly how they act,” he said, adding: “Sanctions against Russia are needed. Tariffs against Russian trade are needed. Collective defence is needed – and Ukraine has proposed to its partners the creation of just such a system of protection.”
“Do not wait for dozens of ‘shaheds’ and ballistic missiles before finally making decisions,” he added.
The incident follows repeated incidents of Russian drone debris crashing on Romanian soil since the start of the war.
Poland, too, on Saturday was moved to issue a drone threat that forced it to deploy aircraft and close an airport in Lublin in the southeast of the country, days after Polish and allied NATO jets shot down 19 Russian drones over its territory.
NATO on Friday announced plans to reinforce its so-called Eastern Flank, with officials discussing tighter air defences, additional deployments and quicker decision-making to deter further Russian provocations.
(jp)
