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The head of diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, classified, on Sunday (9/1), as “unacceptable” the foray of a Russian drone in the Romania airspace, accusing Moscow of a “reckless climb.”
– Another NATO member country – Romania claimed that an unmanned aircraft had violated its airspace on Saturday (13), stating that Moscow’s actions constitute a “new challenge” to Black Sea safety.
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“Romanian airspace violation of Russian drones is another unacceptable infraction of the sovereignty of an EU member state,” Kallas wrote on network X. “This continuous reckless climb threatens regional security. We sympathize with Romania. I am in close contact with the Romanian government,” he added.
Bucarest has vehemently condemned “the irresponsible actions of the Russian Federation”, emphasizing that “they represent a new challenge to regional security and stability in the Black Sea area,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense. “Such incidents demonstrate the lack of respect of the Russian Federation by International Law,” the document adds.
Romania said on Saturday night that its airspace was violated by a drone during a Russian attack on neighboring Ukraine.
Poland and NATO countries with military presence on their territory are on maximum alert.
Germany sends plane
Romania sent two F-16 fighters on Saturday night to monitor the situation. The aircraft “detected a drone in the national airspace”, which flew for about 50 minutes over the east of the country, starting from the city of Cascia Veche, before leaving the national airspace near the pardin, towards Ukraine, according to the statement.
“The pilots were permitted to shoot down the target, but at the time they had direct contact, they evaluated the collateral risks and decided not to open fire,” continues the Romanian Ministry of Defense statement.
A law passed in February by the High Chamber of Parliament allows Romania to slaughter drones that violate its airspace.
The Romanian aircraft received support from its German allies with “two Eurofighter Typhoon planes” who monitored the area, the ministry added.
According to the same source, the drone did not fly over populated areas and did not represent an imminent threat to the safety of the population.
Former US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he is ready to impose new sanctions against Russia, but on the condition that NATO countries will stop buying Russian oil.
After the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022, the EU imposed a ban on most Russian oil imports. However, the Druzhba Pipeline (“Friendship” in Russian) was temporarily exempt to give time to central European countries to find alternatives.
Hungary and Slovakia, both members of the EU, continue to import Russian oil through the pipeline, which has been the target of recurring Ukrainian attacks in recent weeks.
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