Romania asks NATO to respond to Russian drone invasion
Romania is deeply concerned about Russian drones (Getty Images)
NATO must take "robust coordinated" measures in response to incidents where Russian missiles or drones launched by Ukraine invade the alliance's airspace, according to Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tîlvăr.
"B9 states are profoundly concerned about the repeated incursions of Russia's drones and missiles in NATO air space, in Poland, Romania, Latvia, as well as escalating tensions along NATO's eastern flank," Tîlvăr told reporters.
Defense ministers from NATO's eastern flank states, the Bucharest Nine (B9), met on September 18 in Bucharest.
"That is why a robust, coordinated response on an allied level is needed as well as enforcing the rotational air defense and integrated anti-missile model as soon as possible," he said.
Poland's Deputy Defense Minister Paweł Zalewski said that the issue of destroying drones that have invaded allied airspace will need to be addressed at the NATO defense ministers' meeting in October.
"We have confirmed hybrid attacks on allies, as well as the participation of Belarus in Russia's actions," added Zalewski.
Russian drones
Romania shares a 650 km border with Ukraine, and over the past year, fragments of Russian drones have repeatedly fallen on its territory. Romanian territory is close to Ukrainian ports on the Danube River, which frequently become targets for Russia.
Last week, Ukraine accused Russia of using strategic bombers to launch a missile strike on a civilian grain carrier in the Black Sea waters near Romania, further exacerbating tensions between Moscow and the military alliance.
Earlier this month, NATO countries reported that Romania and Latvia witnessed the crash of Russian drones that invaded their airspace, prompting officials to call for joint measures to counter Russia's airspace intrusions.
The Bucharest Nine is a coalition of nine Central and Eastern European countries established to deepen military cooperation among NATO's eastern flank nations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sarcastically remarked that, so far, only Belarus has managed to shoot down Russian Shahed drones that entered its airspace. According to him, Western partners are afraid to even acknowledge they are working on this issue.
