Romania scrambled fighter jets yesterday when a drone breached the country's airspace during a Russian attack on Ukrainian infrastructure near the border, the defense ministry said.
Defense Minister Ionut Mosteanu said the F-16 pilots came close to taking down the drone as it was flying very low before it left national airspace toward Ukraine.
A threat of drone strikes also prompted Poland to deploy aircraft and close an airport in the eastern city of Lublin yesterday, three days after it shot down Russian drones in its airspace with the backing of aircraft from its NATO allies.
Romania, a European Union and NATO state which shares a 650km border with Ukraine, has had Russian drone fragments fall onto its territory repeatedly since Russia began waging war on its neighbor.
Yesterday, it scrambled two F-16 fighter jets and later two Eurofighters - part of German air policing missions in Romania - and warned citizens in the southeastern county of Tulcea near the Danube and its Ukrainian border to take cover, the defense ministry said in a statement.
It added the jets detected a drone in national airspace, which they followed until it dropped off the radar 20km southwest of the village of Chilia Veche.
Mr Mosteanu told private television station Antena 3 that helicopters will survey the area near the border to look for potential drone parts, "but all information at this moment indicates the drone exited airspace to Ukraine".
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on social media platform X that data showed the drone breached about 10 kilometers into Romanian territory and operated in NATO airspace for around 50 minutes.
Watch: French Rafales patrol Polish skies as part of NATO's 'Eastern Sentry’
"It is an obvious expansion of the war by Russia – and this is exactly how they act," he said.
"Sanctions against Russia are needed. Tariffs against Russian trade are needed. Collective defense is needed."
NATO announced plans to beef up the defence of Europe's eastern flank on Friday, after Poland shot down drones that had violated its airspace, the first known shots fired by a member of the Western alliance during Russia's war in Ukraine.
Romanian lawmakers approved a law earlier this year enabling the army to shoot down drones illegally breaching Romanian airspace during peacetime, based on threat levels and risks to human life and property, but the bill does not yet have all enforcement rules approved.
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard wrote on platform X that the airspace breach was "another unacceptable violation of NATO airspace".
"Sweden stands in full solidarity with Romania as a NATO Ally and EU Member State. We are always ready to contribute further to the deterrence and defence of the Alliance."
It comes as French Rafale fighter jets equipped for air-to-air combat patrolled Polish skies yesterday, according to handout video released by the French Armed Forces.
France sent three Rafale fighter jets to help protect the airspace of Poland and eastern Europe, as part of NATO's Eastern Sentry operation.
The planes were sent east along with personnel, handling equipment and ammunition, and were operational on Friday, the French Armed Forces said in a statement the same day.
Ukraine attacks major Russian refinery with drones
Meanwhile, Ukraine launched a big attack with at least 361 drones targeting Russia overnight, sparking a brief fire at the vast Kirishi oil refinery in Russia's northwest, Russian officials said, reporting no injuries.
As big powers talk about how to end the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, the drone war is heating up with Russian drones downed in NATO-member Poland and attacks by Ukraine against the oil refineries and pipelines of Russia, the world's second biggest oil exporter.
Surgutneftegaz's Kirishinefteorgsintez refinery, one of the top two refineries in Russia, was attacked by Ukrainian drones, Russian officials said.
Alexander Drozdenko, the governor of the Leningrad region, said that three drones were destroyed in the Kirishi area and that a fire sparked by falling debris had been put out. He said no one was injured.
Ukraine's drone command confirmed it attacked the refinery and said it had "carried out a successful strike".
Reuters was unable to immediately verify the scale of the damage, if any, to the refinery.
Kirishi refines about 17.7 million metric tons per year, or 355,000 barrels per day, of Russian crude, or 6.4% of the country's total.
Russia said that more than 80 Ukrainian drones were destroyed overnight.
An oil company in Russia's Bashkortostan region will maintain production levels despite a drone attack yesterday, regional governor Radiy Khabirov said.
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