This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Romania and Latvia, both members of NATO, on September 8 accused Russia of violating their countries’ airspace with military drones, escalating tensions between Moscow and the West.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, incidents of Russian military drones or missiles flying across or crashing into neighboring states of Ukraine have been reported. Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its territory on several occasions, as recently as July this year.
In the latest incident, Romania’s Foreign Ministry protested the alleged violation of the country’s airspace by “criminal Russian aerial vehicles.”
In a statement on X on September 8, the ministry also urged “Russia to stop its reckless escalation,” adding that it had opened consultations with NATO and its allies over the incidents.
Earlier the same day, Romania said it scrambled two fighter jets that tracked the path of a drone that briefly violated Romanian airspace before heading toward Ukraine. The military said it was searching the area around the village of Periprava on the Ukrainian border, where it suspects a drone may have crashed.
Mircea Geoana, NATO’s outgoing deputy secretary-general and Romania’s former top diplomat, said the military alliance also condemned Russia’s violation of Romanian airspace.
“While we have no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against Allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous,” he wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Latvia also reported a Russian military drone had violated its airspace and crashed on its territory on September 7.
“We are in close contact with our allies. The number of such incidents is increasing on NATO’s eastern flank, and we must solve them together,” Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics wrote on X.
The Latvian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the drone had flown into the country’s airspace from Belarus and crashed in the municipality of Rezekne.
“This situation is a confirmation that we need to continue the work we have started to strengthen Latvia’s eastern border, including the development of air-defense capabilities and electronic warfare capabilities to limit the activities of UAVs of different applications,” said Defense Minister Andris Spruds, according to AFP.
