Locals were shocked: on Tuesday morning (November 25, 2025) a Russian drone crashed into a farmyard in the village of Puiești, 50 kilometers from the Romanian-Moldovan border. The terrified farm owner told local media that he was in the house with his family when he heard a very loud crash. The drone crashed into a tree. Later, other residents of Puiești also expressed their fear, with some admitting that they were afraid of war and were considering packing up and leaving the village.
At almost the same time, in the Republic of Moldova, Romania's northeastern neighbor, a Russian drone crashed on the roof of a farm building in the village of Cuhuresti de Jos, 15 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
These two incidents have caused bewilderment and sowed fear among the populations of Romania and Moldova, who this week experienced the worst violations of their airspace since the start of the full-scale Russian war against Ukraine. In the massive Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine on Tuesday morning, a total of six Russian drones entered Moldovan airspace, including the one that crashed in Cucuresti de Jos.
The drone that crashed in Romania apparently spent several hours in the country's airspace, during which time residents of several counties received danger warnings on their mobile phones.
Deliberate provocations?
Moldova, which is almost defenseless militarily, has no functioning air defense against drones, which is why the country was unable to shoot down these aircraft. The situation is different in Romania, a NATO member: four fighter jets were sent there to fight the Russian drone, two of which were piloted by Germans. However, the military pilots apparently had difficulty tracking the offending drone and lost sight of it several times, while at the same time showing hesitation about shooting it down.
The two downed drones were apparently not loaded with explosives. In the Russian attacks on Ukraine, such drones are most often used to deceive air defenses, but they can also be used for reconnaissance. The trajectories of the drones that penetrated the airspace of Moldova and Romania suggest that Russia deliberately directed the aircraft towards both countries.
It is assumed that they flew from Crimea, across the Black Sea, to the Danube Delta, and then to southern and central Moldova, respectively - to the eastern part of Romania. But unlike the Polish government's reaction to similar drone incidents in Poland in early September, Moldovan and Romanian officials have so far not accused Russia of deliberate, malicious actions.
Dozens of airspace violations
The Russian ambassador to the Republic of Moldova was summoned on Tuesday, while the Romanian government has yet to react. However, the Russian ambassador in Bucharest has already been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs several times over similar airspace violations - most recently in mid-November. Then he was shown parts of a Russian drone that crashed on Romanian territory.
In recent years, Russia has violated the airspace of Moldova and Romania dozens of times - with drones and missiles. In Romania, this has even led to explosions: on November 4, a Russian drone exploded near the point where the borders of Romania, Moldova and Ukraine meet, and only about ten kilometers from the large city of Galati on the Danube River.
Earlier last week, residents of the village of Plauru in the northern part of the Danube Delta had to be evacuated after a Russian drone set fire to a liquefied gas tanker in the port city of Ismail on the Ukrainian bank of the Danube and threatened to cause a powerful explosion. The Romanian coast and the village of Plauru are located about 250 meters from the port of Ismail.
War is increasingly becoming a part of everyday life
For the Republic of Moldova and Romania, Russia's war against Ukraine is increasingly becoming a part of everyday life. Against this background, many observers are wondering what else needs to happen to trigger the Romanian authorities and the NATO forces stationed there. After all, NATO's largest air base in Southeast Europe is located near the Black Sea port city of Constanta.
"It remains unclear why this drone was not shot down after the legislation was changed to allow the shooting down of offending drones. The relevant order was issued, and the military had complete freedom of action," commented a presenter from the Digi24 television channel.
Romanian Defense Minister Ionut Mosteanu, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, struggled to explain himself to the press. "We are not at war, we cannot just shoot without thinking about the consequences," he said.
"Russian Drone Alley"
In February 2025, the Romanian parliament voted to amend the law to allow the shooting down of drones in the country's airspace - something that had not been possible before. The law came into force in May 2025. The fact that not a single Russian drone has been shot down since then is apparently not a problem for Romanian President Nicos Dan, who has held the post since May 2025.
On Wednesday, he made a surprisingly reassuring statement to the Romanian media: "All these drones that occasionally enter our territory are accidents." Similar incidents happen in many places in Europe, he recalled, adding that in this case it was a matter of "technical problems". Nicos Dan did not specify what exactly he meant by "technical problems", but he seemed nervous and confused as he spoke.
The opinion of former Romanian head of state Traian Basescu, who demonstrated firmness towards Russia during his mandate from 2004 to 2014, is completely different. On the Digi24 television channel, he said: "A country that respects itself does not allow its airspace to become an alley of Russian drones."
Author: Keno Ferzek