In 2026, several major drone incidents took place in Romania. These included a Russian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashing into a residential building in Galați and a Ukrainian naval drone exploding in the Port of Constanța. The same year saw the first Russian drones shot down over the country.
Since the escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian war following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, several non-combatant countries in the proximity of the conflict reported breaches of their airspace by either Russia or Ukraine. As of 5 November 2026, Romania has been the country reporting the most incidents, with 81 incidents of drone debris found on its territory and 57 breaches of its airspace or maritime boundary recorded since 2022.
The incidents in Romania have increased in frequency and intensity in the first months of 2026, after previously mostly ranging from drone fragments found in uninhabited areas close to the border with Ukraine to short-time breaches over Romanian land or sea before entering Ukraine. The violations mostly took place in the proximity of Ukraine's inland ports on the Danube, which also forms the entire southern section of the Romania-Ukraine border, but minor incidents and breaches also happened on the northern section.
Since most of the incidents involved Russian UAVs, a diplomatic row between Romania and the Russian Federation began in May 2026, when Romania closed the Russian consulate-general in Constanța, and a month later recalled its ambassador from Moscow. Relations between the two states were already strained by Romania's support for Ukraine, as well as NATO and European Union membership status, contrasting with Russia's animosity toward those blocs. Rarely, violations also involved Ukrainian maritime drones, all of the time due to Russia's electronic war against Ukrainian military assets.
Some breaches of Romanian airspace coincided with breaches of Moldovan airspace. Additionally, on 8 August, Bulgaria reported its first airspace violation when a Ukrainian drone crashed near Kardam, a few hundred meters from the Romanian border, with the drone flying over Romanian airspace before the crash.
Background
Romania has supported Ukraine's territorial integrity since the first days of the Russo-Ukrainian war and has intensivelly aided Ukraine, with both humanitarian and military means, since the escalation of the conflict in February 2022. In response, Russia placed Romania on its "unfriendly countries list" one month after the invasion.
The first Romanian airspace violation was accidental and happened during the first hours of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when a Sukhoi Su-27 of the Ukrainian Air Forces lost contact with its home base and entered Romanian airspace, where it was intercepted and escorted to Bacău. The aircraft and its pilot returned to Ukraine a few days later. Two weeks later, two additional violations were recorded, the first was a Tupolev Tu-141 drone of unknown origin which flew over Romanian airspace before entering Hungarian airspace and eventually crashed in Croatia, and the second involved a Russian Army Orlan-10 drone which crashed on a field near Bistrița, more than 70 km (43 mi) from the Ukrainian border.
More than one year later, in July 2023, Russia began attacking Ukraine's inland ports of Izmail, Reni and Kiliya, all located on the Danube, which marks Ukraine's border with Romania. Recordings taken from the Romanian bank showed drones and rockets striking several targets within the port area. Eventually, in the early hours of 4 September of the same year, an off-course Russian drone crashed on Romanian territory in an uninhabited area near the village of Plauru.
Following this incident, fragments of other drones were discovered on the Romanian bank of the Danube over several months. Other violations of various intensities were recorded over the course of the following year, without causing material damage or casualties. On 17 November 2025, the villages of Ceatalchioi and Plauru were evacuated by the Romanian government after the Turkish ship MT Orinda carrying 4.4 thousand t (9.7 million lb) of liquefied petroleum gas was attacked by Russia in the port of Izmail, presenting a significant risk of explosion.
Besides naval mines found drifting in the Black Sea, nine of which have been destroyed by the Romanian Naval Forces, naval drones have also entered Romania's exclusive economic zone. The first such incident happened in 2024, when a drone was discovered 20 nautical miles off Tuzla in April of that year. With the intensification of Ukrainian attacks on the Russian shadow fleet in the Black Sea, another incident happened in December 2025 when a Sea Baby drone was identified drifting 25 miles east off Constanța. In both cases, the drones were destroyed by Romanian EOD divers.
Incidents
Aerial incidents
Early events
The first incident of a drone entering Romanian airspace in 2026 happened on 25 February, when a Russian drone entered the airspace near Sfântu Gheorghe, Tulcea and left 20 minutes later near Sulina. Other short incursions took place in March and April.
On 25 April, 15 one-way attack drones were detected by radar in Ukrainian airspace over Reni. As a result, two Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighters on Quick Reaction Alert as part of Operation Biloxi at the 86th Air Base were scrambled by CAOC Torrejón, while Romanian anti-air defences were placed on high alert. The British fighters detected an aerial contact about 1.5 km (0.93 mi) from Reni and were authorized to engage. As the drone did not enter Romanian airspace, the Typhoons did not shoot it down and returned to base. Subsequently, a drone entered Romanian airspace, flying at low altitude over Lake Brateș and crashed in the Bariera Traian quarter of Galați, damaging an electricity pole and a household workshop. The same day, other drone fragments were discovered in Văcăreni, Tulcea County. A second drone with explosives on board was identified near Văcăreni again on 26 April.
On 3 May, a drone without explosives fell near Șerbăuți, Suceava County, 20 km (12 mi) from the border with Ukraine.
Galați incident
Shortly after midnight on 29 May, a Russian Geran-2 drone was detected near the border and monitored for several minutes before entering Romanian airspace at 1:53 AM. Earlier, two F-16 jets and an IAR 330 helicopter of the Romanian Air Force were scrambled from the 86th Air Base. Visual contact was reported shortly after 2 AM, but was lost while the drone was approaching the southern quarters of Galați.
Minutes later, an explosion was reported at a ten-storey apartment building in the Mazepa quarter. The stray drone had crashed on the building's roof, right above an apartment, setting it on fire after the explosion. Its residents, a 51-year-old woman and her 14-year-old son, were injured but managed to self-evacuate. The explosion destroyed the apartment and the roof and also affected several other apartments in the same building. Five cars were damaged by falling debris as well.
The building was evacuated, and the street was blocked for several hours, while the injured were hospitalized. The drone's origin was determined shortly after, when the Russian inscription "ГЕРАН-2" (Geran-2) was identified on a discovered drone flap.
Following events
In the morning of 24 July, a drone, later identified as a Russian Geran-2, was detected 20 km (12 mi) off Sulina. Two Italian Air Force Eurofighters from the 57th Air Base on the NATO enhanced air policing mission, two Romanian Air Force F-16s from the 86th Air Base, and an IAR 330 SOCAT helicopter were scrambled in response. According to the press conference held by the Chief of the Romanian General Staff, the drone was tracked on its linear flightpath on the Sulina-Brăila-Fetești-Buzău route for 80 minutes, before it was engaged over safe ground. An Italian fighter launched a missile at it while over Brăila County, but missed. The Romanian F-16s engaged the drone afterwards and one fighter shot it down with an AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile over Padina, Buzău. The drone crashed in a field between Padina and Pogoanele. Less than 24 hours later, a second drone was destroyed over Sfântu Gheorghe by the same pilot who shot down the previous drone. This incident happened after a group of drones was identified by radar north-west of Snake Island, and the drone that breached Romanian airspace was shot down after 11 minutes. On 26 July, a third drone was shot down over Romania's territorial waters, 12 km (7.5 mi) north-east off Sulina, 5 minutes after it had entered Romanian airspace. This event marked the third time, in three consecutive days, when drones were shot down in Romania.
On 27 July, a short incursion by a Russian drone was detected. The drone quickly passed into Ukrainian airspace before it could be intercepted. In the morning on 2 August, a drone was detected near the border. The drone did not enter Romanian airspace. Later that day, another drone flew over Romania's territorial waters, then continued along the Sulina branch of the Danube. Two Romanian F-16s were sent to monitor the drone. After 20 minutes, it crossed into Ukraine and was shot down by the Ukrainian forces. Drone debris fell in a field near Periprava, Tulcea.
On 8 August, a drone crashed and exploded in Bulgaria near Kardam, close to the Romanian border and 1 km (0.62 mi) away from a compressor station of the Trans-Balkan pipeline. The drone, identified as a Ukrainian Maya decoy drone, passed over Romanian airspace before entering Bulgaria, as stated by Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev. Neither Romania nor Bulgaria detected the drone on radar.
On 16 August, a Geran-2 drone that flew over Moldova between Etulia and Slobozia Mare entered Romanian airspace and was shot down approximately 24 km (15 mi) from Galați by an F-18 fighter jet of the Spanish Air Force on QRA at the 57th Air Base. The drone crashed in an uninhabited area between Băleni and Cudalbi.
On 20 August, a group of drones was detected flying close to the border with Ukraine at 2:23 AM. Two Spanish F-18s and a Romanian IAR 330 were scrambled. One drone subsequently entered Romanian airspace and crashed in a field, 4 km (2.5 mi) from Grindu, Tulcea, as reported by the Romanian helicopter. The remains, determined to not pose any risks of explosion, were taken by the Romanian Border Police for further analysis.
On 24 August, a Russian drone crashed into a walnut tree in the village of Ciușlea, Vrancea County, 5 m (16 ft) away from a household. The drone was intermittently tracked over Moldova, coming from Vynohradivka and entering the airspace at Vulcănești. It subsequently left Moldova near Pașcani and crossed into Romania, heading towards Târgu Bujor. It last appeared on radar near Furcenii Noi. Two F-16s and an IAR 330 were previously scrambled before the drone disappeared from radar. The locals from Ciușlea heard the UAV but the drone was only discovered after a strong smell of fuel was reported. The area was evacuated, and it was later established that the drone did not carry any explosives.
At 16:37 on 8 September, a Russian jet-powered drone, later identified as a Geran-4, entered Romanian airspace from Moldova. The drone previously entered Moldovan airspace from Ukraine, crossed over the Transnistrian territory, approached Chișinău and Ungheni, then left Moldova near Zagarancea. Subsequently, the drone flew over Romania, getting within 18 km (11 mi) of Roman, Neamț County before disappearing from radar between the Botoșani and Iași counties. The drone was detected again at 17:08 in Moldova and eventually crashed near Mihăilenii Vechi in the Rîșcani District. Alerts were issued across the respective counties, and flights at the Iași International Airport were suspended. Two Spanish F-18s were scrambled from Mihail Kogălniceanu to monitor the situation during the incident. Additionally, 11 other NATO aircraft, including E-3 Sentry AWACS, Airbus A330 MRTT tankers, as well as Dassault Rafale and F-16 fighters, were conducting an exercise in the Black Sea area but did not spot the drone. According to a statement by the Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, and confirmed by the Moldovan Government, the flight of the drone endangered the aircraft carrying President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Norway which was preparing to take off from Chișinău International Airport.
In the morning of 24 September, a drone that was detected by Romanian radar over Ukraine near Botoșani County entered Romanian airspace and crashed near Solca, Suceava County, after flying for four minutes in Romania. Romania scrambled two F-16s in response, but they could not catch the drone before it crashed. Earlier in the night, two Spanish F-18s were scrambled to monitor the airspace along the southern border. As a result of this incident, school classes were suspended until 10 AM in four settlements in the area. The incident took place amid a Russian attack on Ukraine, and at least four other Russian drones entered Moldovan airspace.
Another two Russian jet-powered Geran-4 drones were shot down by Romanian F-16s over Romanian territorial waters on 17 October. The drones were part of a group of aerial targets spotted flying near Snake Island. The two fighters on Air Policing duty were preemptively scrambled from the Borcea air base and engaged the drones within two minutes of entering Romanian airspace. First drone was shot down at 18:01, second drone at 18:05.