The Russian Embassy in Bucharest has denied allegations that a Russian drone entered Romanian airspace. This was made clear in a post on the diplomatic mission's official Facebook page, BTA reports.
“All circumstances indicate that in reality there was a deliberate provocation by the Kiev regime, which, fearing inevitable military failure and responsibility for the crimes committed against both the Russian and Ukrainian people, is desperately trying by all means to involve other European countries in a dangerous military adventure against the Russian Federation“, the statement said.
The comment came a day after Russian Ambassador Vladimir Lipaev was summoned to the Romanian Foreign Ministry.
Bucharest's reaction
The Romanian Ministry of National Defense said that the drone was a Russian “Geran“ and described the incident as an “irresponsible action by the Russian Federation“.
On September 13, a drone entered Romanian airspace in the northern part of Dobrudja, provoking a reaction from the air force. Two F-16 fighter jets detected and tracked the device, which disappeared from radar about 20 km southwest of the village of Chilia Veche.
The pilots were authorized to shoot down the drone, but decided not to open fire, assessing the accompanying risks, the Ministry announced.
Criticisms and context
Former President Traian Basescu sharply criticized the decision and described the reaction as “helplessness“.
“Putin sends us a drone that hovers for 49 minutes in Romanian airspace, we raise F-16 fighters and towards the end of the mission two other German &39;Eurofighter&39; come to replace us, because of a drone that should have been shot down in the first minutes“, he told Digi24.
According to data from the Romanian Ministry of Defense, in over 50% of Russian attacks on Ukraine, near the border, fragments of drones have fallen on the country's territory. Since February 2022, 52 Russian drone attacks in close proximity have been registered to the Romanian border.