Romania and Latvia Report Russian Drones Violated Their Airspace

During a tense weekend marked by escalating tensions in Eastern Europe, two NATO member countries reported incursions by Russian drones into their airspace. One drone was confirmed to have entered Romania, prompting swift military action from Bucharest, while another reportedly crashed in eastern Latvia.

Romania’s Ministry of National Defense stated that a Russian drone crossed into its territory early Sunday morning amid ongoing attacks on “civilian targets and port infrastructure” across the Danube in Ukraine. In response to this incursion, Romania scrambled F-16 fighter jets to monitor its airspace and issued emergency alerts to residents in two eastern regions. Investigations were initiated into an impact zone identified in a sparsely populated area along the Romanian-Ukrainian border, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

Separately, Latvia’s Defense Minister Andris Sprūds announced that a Russian drone crashed near the town of Rezekne the previous day. This town, which is home to over 25,000 residents, is located approximately 55 kilometers west of Russia and 75 kilometers from Belarus, a country closely allied with Moscow.

Though the incident in Latvia was unusual, Romania has reported drone fragments on its territory multiple times since the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with the most recent incident occurring in July. Mircea Geoană, the outgoing deputy secretary-general of NATO and a former Romanian diplomat, condemned the breach of Romanian airspace, stating that while there’s no indication of an intentional attack on NATO allies, such actions are reckless and could lead to dangerous situations.

Latvia’s military released a statement asserting there was no evidence that either Moscow or Minsk sent the drone into Latvian airspace deliberately. The military confirmed that the site of the crash had been identified, and an ongoing investigation was underway.

Defense Minister Sprūds emphasized that while the drone incursion was serious, there were no casualties or damage reported. He remarked on the seriousness of the situation, which serves as a stark reminder of the precarious nature of security in the region.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha commented on the incidents, calling them a reminder that Russian aggression extends beyond Ukraine’s borders. He urged NATO allies to maximize their support for Ukraine to counter Russian aggression and protect peace in Europe.

In Ukraine, the conflict’s toll continued to grow as two civilians lost their lives and four others, including two children, were injured during a nighttime Russian airstrike on the city of Sumy. This strike follows claims from the Russian Defense Ministry that its forces targeted pro-Kyiv fighters in a nearby village. However, the connection between the two incidents remains unclear.

Later, Ukraine’s General Staff reported ongoing Russian airstrikes in Sumy and surrounding areas, which included the use of at least 16 “glide bombs” by midday Sunday. The shelling of Sumy continued, resulting in additional injuries to a teenager and a civilian man. Moreover, three women were killed when Russian forces shelled a village in the eastern Donetsk region, and another woman lost her life on the outskirts of Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine.

The recent missile strike on the military academy and a nearby hospital in Poltava led to a grim increase in casualties, with the death toll now reaching 58 and over 320 individuals injured.

Amid these ongoing assaults, Russian troops have ramped up their offensives in the Donetsk region, pushing toward the city of Pokrovsk, a vital defensive stronghold for Ukraine. Reports indicate that Russian forces have taken control of Novohrodivka, and there are claims of advancements in other areas surrounding Pokrovsk, which is critical for Ukrainian defense and logistics.

In a separate development, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed a desire for a future peace conference that would include Russia. He and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy both agree on the need for Russian participation in future discussions to resolve the conflict. Scholz discussed the matter during an interview with Germany’s ZDF public television, following previous talks in June that saw 78 countries affirm support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, but left numerous questions about peace negotiations unresolved.

Although President Zelenskyy did not comment immediately on Scholz’s remarks, he mentioned having important negotiations with both the German Chancellor and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, without divulging further details.