NATO members Latvia, Romania say Russian drones breached airspace

Romania has confirmed drone fragments on several occasions since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Latvia and Romania, NATO members who are allies of Ukraine, have said that Russian drones violated their airspace.

Romania said a Russian drone entered its airspace during nighttime attacks across the Danube River in neighbouring Ukraine in the early hours of Sunday, while Latvia said one crashed in the eastern part of the country a day earlier.

Romania’s Ministry of National Defence said that Bucharest deployed F-16 fighter jets to monitor its airspace and that a search for the weapon’s debris was under way at a potential crash site near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

Bucharest strongly condemned the “renewed violation” brought on by Moscow’s “illegal attacks”.

Latvia’s President Edgars Rinkevics, meanwhile, said a Russian military drone had crashed in the eastern part of its territory.