KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian drone violated Romanian airspace during a nighttime attack on neighboring Ukraine, a NATO allied country reported Sunday, urging Moscow to stop escalating the situation.
The Romanian Defense Ministry said the incident occurred across the Danube in Ukraine, when Russia “targeted civilians and attacked port infrastructure.”
Romania has sent F-16 fighter jets to monitor its airspace and provided information to NATO allies, the ministry said. Romanian emergency authorities also issued text alerts to residents of two eastern regions.
Preliminary data indicated there may be an “impact area” in uninhabited land near the Romanian village of Periprava, the ministry said, adding that investigations were ongoing.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Romania has spotted drone debris on its territory several times, most recently in July this year.
The Romanian Defense Ministry strongly condemned Russia's attacks on Ukraine, calling them “unjustified and in flagrant violation of the norms of international law.”
Mircea Joana, NATO's outgoing deputy secretary-general and a former Romanian diplomat, said the NATO military alliance also condemns Russia's violation of Romanian airspace. “While we have no information that Russia has deliberately attacked an ally, these actions are irresponsible and potentially dangerous,” he wrote on X.
In Ukraine, Russian airstrikes overnight on the northern city of Sumy killed two civilians and wounded four, the region's military administration said, including two children. In the eastern Kharkiv region, two elderly women were killed in overnight shelling, the region's governor, Ole Shnievbov, said.
Ukraine's air force reported that its air defense forces shot down one of four cruise missiles fired by Russia and 15 of 23 Iranian-made Shahed drones during the night, adding that none of the cruise missiles hit their targets.
In Ukraine's eastern industrial region, Russian forces have continued their fierce month-long offensive towards the city of Pokrovsk and have also intensified attacks further south near the city of Krahove, the Ukrainian General Staff said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had captured the small town of Novofrozivka, about 19 kilometers southeast of Pokrovsk.
