From the beginning of 2026, Romania has recorded 18 instances of Russian drones violating its airspace.
F-16 fighter jet. / © Associated Press
Romania has sounded the alarm over Russian UAVs. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 33 airspace violations have been registered over the country.
This is reported by the publication Digi24, citing the Romanian Ministry of Defense.
According to the ministry, since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, over 100 Russian attacks have been carried out on Ukrainian territory near the border with Romania. Specifically, since the start of 2026, over 40 such strikes have been recorded. Due to the threat associated with attacks near the border, fighter jets from an enhanced NATO air policing mission have scrambled 34 times to respond to potential threats.
“During the same period, 33 instances of Russian drones penetrating Romania’s airspace were recorded, the latest occurring on July 26, 2026,” the statement reads.
Since the beginning of 2026, Romania has documented 18 cases of its airspace being violated by Russian drones. In three of these instances, the UAVs were shot down by F-16 fighter jets. Furthermore, military personnel have discovered wreckage or entire Russian drones on Romanian territory 16 times.
As a reminder, on July 26, a Romanian F-16 fighter jet intercepted an unidentified drone in the country’s airspace for the third time in three days (previous intercepts were on July 24 and 24). It has been confirmed that the drone intercepted on July 24 was a Russian “Shahed.”
Romanian President Nicolae Ciucă condemned Russia’s actions against a NATO country, calling them “unacceptable” and “inadmissible.” According to him, Bucharest and its allies are treating such actions by Moscow “with the utmost seriousness.”
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