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Three drones, one response
Romania ordered a Russian embassy employee expelled after Romanian forces shot down three suspected Russian drones between Friday and Sunday, with the foreign ministry saying the move was a "firm response" to drones repeatedly breaching the NATO member’s airspace.
Romania summoned Russian Ambassador Vladimir Lipayev and notified him that it would "declare a member of the Russian Federation's mission in Bucharest undesirable," requiring him to leave Romanian territory within five days.
The Romanian defence ministry said a new drone incursion was reported on Monday, and Romanian authorities presented fragments of the first drone shot down on Friday by an F-16 fighter jet.
Romanian officials said an investigation identified the first drone as a Russian "Shahed model," while investigations into the two other drones shot down Saturday and Sunday were ongoing.
Officials trade accusations
Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Țoiu said the aircraft were “Shahed-type drones” used by Russia, and President Nicușor Dan described the repeated incursions as “inadmissible and intolerable,” saying they violated Romania’s sovereignty as well as NATO and EU airspace.
In a statement, Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 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.”
Russia denounced the expulsions and warned it "will not go unanswered," while its foreign ministry said it "categorically rejects these baseless accusations" and called Romania’s move "new staged propaganda."
A senior NATO military spokesperson said on Sunday that one of the drones shot down Saturday and Sunday also appeared "to be of Russian origin," as investigations continued.
What happens next
Romania’s diplomatic pushback was paired with a shift toward active defense, with NATO military headquarters spokesperson Col. Martin O’Donnell saying the shootdowns came as NATO, Romania, and other nations actively acquire “ground-based interceptors” to enhance allied and national air defence capabilities.
Romania integrated the US-made Merops counter-drone system into its defences at the end of June, and the system is described as AI-powered and designed to intercept small targets flying at low altitudes.
The Guardian reported that Romania’s Prosecutor General’s Office determined the drone intercepted on Friday was of the Shahed-type used by Russian forces, while investigations into the drones shot down on Saturday and Sunday remained ongoing.
Romania’s response also extended beyond the immediate incidents, with the country reporting dozens of drone incursions since the start of the Ukraine war, including a May crash in Galați that injured two people.
