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F-16 fighter jet intercepted drone in Romanian airspace over Black Sea, defence minister says
Romania has said it is summoning Russia’s ambassador after the Nato member’s military shot down a third drone in as many days.
Romania has experienced frequent drone incursions since Russia launched its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but had not shot down any until Friday.
On Sunday, a Romanian F-16 fighter jet shot down a drone over the Black Sea, five minutes after it entered the country’s airspace, Romania’s defence minister, Radu Miruță, said on Facebook.
The foreign minister, Oana Țoiu, said Romania was summoning Russia’s ambassador after “repeated violations”.
The Romanian president, Nicușor Dan, said that according to an investigation, a drone shot down on Friday was a “Shahed model used by the Russian Federation in its war of aggression against Ukraine”.
Investigations into drones shot down on Saturday and Sunday continued, he said.
“It is unacceptable and intolerable for the Russian Federation to continue violating Romania’s airspace, which is also the airspace of Nato and the European Union,” Dan said on X.
The drone shot down on Sunday also appeared to be of “Russian origin”, Martin O’Donnell, a senior Nato military spokesperson, said.
He said the downing of the drones came as Romania and other Nato countries were actively acquiring “ground-based interceptors” to increase their air defences.
Romania integrated the US-made Merops counter-drone system into its defences at the end of June. AI-powered, the mobile system is designed to intercept small targets flying at low altitudes.
The country has reported dozens of drone incursions since the start of the Ukraine war. One smashed into a residential building in Galați on the border with Ukraine in May, wounding two people.
Romania’s parliament adopted a law in 2025 allowing drones that breach its airspace to be shot down.
Several countries near the Ukraine conflict have shot down drones since the war started.
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