Romanian officials on Sunday claimed one of their pilots shot down a Russian drone in Romanian airspace on Friday, July 24. They claimed two more Russian drones were shot down over the weekend.
In response, Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded a Monday meeting with Russia’s ambassador to Romania, Vladimir Lipayev. They presented him with fragments of a “Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicle commonly used by Russian forces.” They informed him that a Russian diplomat had been declared persona non grata and would have five days to leave Romania.
Romanian officials claimed Russian drones have entered their airspace consistently since the war with Ukraine began. They said their policy had recently shifted from monitoring the incursions to shooting the drones down if this could be done safely, far enough away from civilians.
In May, NATO and Romanian officials claimed a Russian drone hit a residential block in Galați, an eastern Romanian town near the border with Ukraine. Two people were injured; the first time stray Russian drones are claimed to have hurt anyone in the country. Ukrainian officials said the incident proved that Russia was “a real threat” to Europe. At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the wreckage of the drone should be given to Russia so that it could investigate the matter fully.
Russia and Ukraine have been at war since February 24, 2022. During the past four years, each side has innovated and escalated its drone warfare. Each side attempts to hunt down the other’s drone operators and jam the other’s drones.
In May, a NATO fighter jet shot down a Ukrainian drone over Estonia. The speculation at the time was that Russian electronic jamming had sent the drone off course. Ukraine apologized, claiming it was an “unintended incident,” but did not specify what happened.
The Romanian claims of encountering Russian drones would be consistent with their drones being jammed by Ukraine or otherwise malfunctioning. Russia has been waging drone warfare on Ukrainian shipping in the Black Sea and Ukrainian ports.
However, on Tuesday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the Romanian accusations “groundless” and vowed to respond to its diplomat’s expulsion. In a statement posted on its website, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said:
“We reject these latest unfounded allegations. These orchestrated incidents and the accompanying propaganda campaign are evidence of the Romanian leadership’s attempt to cover up the disastrous consequences of their irresponsible policy of supporting the Kiev regime.”
The statement seemed to suggest Russia was claiming Romania had engaged in false flag incidents or simply fabricated the entire narrative.
