Moscow Labels Drone Incident in Romania a Ukrainian Provocation Amid Rising Tensions

The Russian embassy in Romania asserted on Sunday that a drone breach into the Eastern European nation the previous day was a «provocation» initiated by Ukraine.

On Saturday, Romania’s Ministry of Defense announced that two of its fighter jets had intercepted a drone within Romanian airspace during ongoing Russian assaults on Ukraine.

According to the defense ministry, the drone did not traverse populated regions and did not endanger civilians.

On Sunday, Romania’s Foreign Ministry called in Russian Ambassador Vladimir Lipayev regarding the incident.

The Russian embassy in Romania refuted claims that one of its drones entered Romanian airspace, labeling the incident instead as a «premeditated provocation by the Kyiv regime.»

Furthermore, it accused Bucharest officials of not providing a «specific and convincing response» to Moscow’s inquiries about the airspace violation.

Since the onset of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Romania has reported several instances of drones being downed within its borders.

The incident on Saturday took place less than a week after Poland reported that it had intercepted multiple Russian drones that had entered its airspace during a significant aerial offensive against Ukraine.

Both Romania and Poland are members of NATO.

Reporting contributed by AFP.