Romania scrambled two F-16 fighter jets after a drone breached the country's airspace during a Russian attack on Ukraine near its border.
Romanian Defence Minister Ionut Mosteanu said the F-16 pilots came close to taking down the drone as it was flying very low before it left national airspace toward Ukraine.
A threat of drone strikes also prompted Poland to deploy aircraft and close an airport in the eastern city of Lublin on Saturday, three days after it shot down Russian drones in its airspace with the backing of aircraft from its NATO allies.
Romania, a European Union and NATO state which shares a 400-mile border with Ukraine, has had Russian drone fragments fall onto its territory repeatedly since Russia began waging war on its neighbour.
On Saturday, Romania scrambled two F-16 fighter jets and later two Eurofighters - part of German air policing missions in the country - and warned citizens in the southeastern county of Tulcea near the Danube and its Ukrainian border to take cover, the defence ministry said in a statement.
It added the jets detected a drone in national airspace, which they followed until it dropped off the radar 20 km southwest of the village of Chilia Veche.
Mr Mosteanu told private television station Antena 3 that helicopters will survey the area near the border to look for potential drone parts, "but all information at this moment indicates the drone exited airspace to Ukraine”.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Russian drone was about 10 kilometres into Romania and was travelling in NATO airspace for approximately 50 minutes.
The president warned that the incident indicated “an obvious expansion” of the war beyond the borders of Ukraine, and once again emphasised the importance of tougher sanctions against Russia.
Romanian foreign minister Toiu Oana added in a post on X: "Romania condemns Russia's behaviour and takes the necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and security."
The latest border breach comes after NATO announced plans to strengthen Eastern Europe’s defence in the wake of Russia’s violation of Polish airspace, supported by the US, which vowed to defend "every inch” of its allies.
The US joined NATO allies in expressing concern about increasing Russian incursions and the incident in Polish airspace led to accusations of Moscow violating international law.
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump said he would only consider new sanctions if NATO countries stopped relying on Russian oil.
Romanian lawmakers approved a law earlier this year enabling the army to shoot down drones illegally breaching Romanian airspace during peacetime, based on threat levels and risks to human life and property, but the bill does not yet have all the enforcement rules approved.
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard wrote on platform X that the airspace breach was "another unacceptable violation of NATO airspace."
She added: "Sweden stands in full solidarity with Romania as a NATO Ally and EU Member State. We are always ready to contribute further to the deterrence and defence of the Alliance."
