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Romanian forces shot down a Russian Shahed drone that entered the country's airspace from Ukraine's Odesa region on Saturday, marking another incident of the war spilling across NATO borders as regional tensions continue to mount.
The drone incursion prompted emergency alerts to residents in Tulcea, Romania, warning of potential falling debris from aerial activity. Romanian F-16 fighter jets intercepted and destroyed the unmanned aircraft after it crossed into Romanian territory.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced Saturday that his country had activated preventive aviation operations in response to Russian drone activity near the Ukrainian-Polish border. "Ground-based air defense systems have reached the highest state of readiness," Tusk said in a social media post, describing the measures as necessary due to threats posed by Russian drones operating over Ukraine.
Emergency notifications sent to Romanian civilians in the affected region advised residents to take shelter in basements or civil protection facilities, warning of an estimated 90-minute period of potential danger from falling objects. The alert system instructed people to stay indoors and away from windows and exterior walls during the incident.
Romania, which shares a border with Ukraine, has previously reported similar incursions of Russian drones and missiles that either deliberately or inadvertently crossed into its airspace during attacks on Ukrainian targets.
The coordinated defensive measures by both Poland and Romania comes as alert status among Eastern European nations are heightened as the conflict continues to affect regional security beyond Ukraine's borders.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian drone operated in NATO airspace for approximately 50 minutes after penetrating about 10 kilometers into Romanian territory. In a statement on social media, Zelenskyy described the incident as part of a calculated Russian strategy of escalation, arguing that drone routes "are always calculated" and cannot be dismissed as coincidence or mistakes by lower-level commanders.
He called for preventive action and stronger collective defense measures, warning that Russia's approach involves "small steps at first, and eventually big losses." Zelenskyy also reported that Russian drones had been active throughout Ukraine, including northern regions near the Belarus border, with preliminary information suggesting Belarusian airspace was used for entry toward Ukraine's Volyn region.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday described the recent incursion of 17 Russian-made drones into Polish airspace during attacks on Ukraine as an "unfortunate and dangerous development." Speaking to reporters in Washington, Rubio emphasized that the critical question remains whether the drones were specifically targeted to enter Poland.
"If that's the case, if the evidence leads us there, then obviously it will be highly escalatory," Rubio said as concerns rise across the Pacific about the expanding geographical scope of the conflict.
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