Romania and Latvia, both NATO members and supporters of Ukraine in its two-year-old war with Russia, are investigating instances of Russian drones that crashed after breaching their airspace.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana denounced the incidents as “irresponsible and potentially dangerous” and called for measures to act jointly to counter Russia’s air incursions.
Romania’s defense ministry said the radar supervision system identified and tracked the path of a drone that entered national airspace and then exited towards Ukraine. Romania scrambled two F-16 fighter jets to monitor the incursion, warning residents of the southeastern Romanian counties of Tulcea and Constanta to take cover. The ministry also identified an impact zone on national territory near the village of Periprava.
President Edgars Rinkevics posted on social media that his government sought a common NATO response in Latvia, which borders Russia and its close ally Belarus.
Initial investigation showed that the drone had entered Latvian airspace from Belarus and crashed near Rezekne. Ukraine’s newly-appointed Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, called for maximum support from Ukraine’s allies.
Romania shares a 650-km (400-mile) border with Ukraine and has had Russian drone fragments stray into its territory repeatedly over the past year. Romanian lawmakers plan to consider legislation at their current session on enabling Romania to shoot down drones invading the country’s airspace in peacetime.
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