Romania summons Russian ambassador after shooting down three drones over its airspace

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Romania presented Russia’s ambassador to Bucharest with fragments of drones shot down in Romanian airspace over the weekend, after summoning him to a meeting as part of a strong diplomatic pushback against the incursions.

Between Friday and Sunday Romania shot down three suspected Russian drones that violated its airspace.

“The Romanian side highlighted that the Russian Federation bears exclusive responsibility for all these grave incidents and for the deterioration of the regional security environment,” the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Romania also recalled its ambassador to Russia for consultations in Bucharest.

Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Țoiu said the aircraft were “Shahed-type drones” used by Russia. They likely crossed into Romanian airspace during Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports in the Odesa region on the Black Sea, near Romania’s southeastern border. The country’s president, Nicușor Dan, described the repeated incursions as “inadmissible and intolerable,” saying they violated Romania’s sovereignty as well as NATO and EU airspace.

Incursions by Russian drones into European airspace have become common during the past year as Moscow’s bombardment of Ukraine, which borders Romania, drags on and Vladimir Putin tests the resolve of NATO countries.

The ambassador was also notified that a staff member of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest will be declared persona non grata and must leave Romania within five days.