Romania has strongly condemned the entry of a Russian drone into its airspace during an attack on neighbouring Ukraine, saying Moscow's actions pose a "new challenge" to Black Sea security.
In a statement following the drone entry on Saturday, Romania's defence ministry said on Sunday that it "strongly condemns the irresponsible actions of the Russian Federation and emphasises that they represent a new challenge to regional security and stability in the Black Sea area."
It added that "such incidents demonstrate the Russian Federation's lack of respect for international law."
Romania reported late Saturday that its airspace had been breached by a drone during a Russian attack in neighbouring Ukraine.
The country scrambled two F-16 fighter jets, which "detected a drone in national airspace" and tracked it until it dropped off the radar, the defence ministry said.
In its statement, the ministry said that a "Geran drone used by” Russia had entered Romanian airspace.
It added that the drone "orbited for about 50 minutes, from northeast of (the village of) Chilia Veche to southwest of Izmail, and left national airspace near the town of Pardina, heading towards Ukraine".
‘Unacceptable’
Romania's fighter jets were "supported by German allies... with two Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft", which monitored the situation.
The drone did not fly over populated areas and did not pose an imminent threat to the safety of the population, said the statement.
Romania's Foreign Minister Toiu Oana said on X that she will "raise Russia's actions at (the) UN General Assembly, urging a strict international adherence to sanctions".
In February, the Romanian parliament adopted a law that makes it possible for the country to shoot down drones breaching its airspace.
Meanwhile, the European Union's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas slammed as "unacceptable" the entry of a Russian drone into Romanian airspace, accusing Moscow of 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. We stand in solidarity with Romania. I am in close contact with the Romanian government."
