Russia, EU officials react after Romania shoots down three unauthorized drones

Russia, NATO, and EU officials reacted after Romania shot down three drones in three consecutive days between July 24 and 26, one of which was confirmed to be a Russian-made Shahed / Geran 2 model. After the incidents, Romania’s Foreign Affairs Ministry summoned the Russian Ambassador in Bucharest, announced that a diplomat of the Russian Embassy will be expelled, and that it will recall its Ambassador from Moscow. Russia’s response Russia responded through an official position regarding the “alleged violations of Romania’s airspace by Russian drones” on Tuesday, July 28, during a press briefing.

In a statement given by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Russia claimed that the shooting down of drones on Romanian territory was “staged.” Zakharova also accused the Romanian authorities of an “irresponsible policy of supporting the regime in Kyiv.” “On July 27, the Romanian authorities undertook a démarche during which the Russian Ambassador in Bucharest was presented with unfounded accusations regarding alleged violations of Romania’s airspace by Russian unmanned aerial vehicles and was informed of the decision to expel a Russian diplomat. We reject these new unfounded claims,” the spokesperson said, according to the statement shared by the Russian Embassy to Romania on Facebook. The official said that the drone-related incidents represented “unrestrained pro-Ukrainian adventurism, and not ‘Moscow’s maneuvers.’” The message from the spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry ended in the same way as that of the Russian ambassador in Bucharest, Vladimir Lipaev, who, after being summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where he was shown fragments of a drone shot down by Romania bearing inscriptions in the Russian language, rejected the evidence and said that the “unjustified expulsion of an embassy employee will not remain unanswered by Russia.” Support from the EU European Union bodies also reacted to the drone-related incidents in Romania.

European officials strongly condemned the violation of Romania’s airspace, describing it as an extremely serious escalation by Russia and a threat to the security of European Union citizens, regional stability, and international peace. Anouar El Anouni, spokesperson for the European Union, stated that Russia’s chargé d’affaires to the Permanent Representation to the EU had been summoned following the overfli…