Russian drone flies deep into Romania before crashing in Moldova

A Russian drone breached Romanian airspace before crashing in Moldova, prompting NATO response and highlighting growing drone threats in the region. Romanian air force F-16s fly above the Baza 86 air base outside Fetesti, Romania, Nov. 13, 2023. A Russian drone crossed into Romanian airspace about 20 miles southeast of Iasi on Tuesday and flew west to just north of Roman, about 100 miles from Ukraine, before turning back into Moldova and crashing, Romania’s Defense Ministry said. (Vadim Ghirda/AP) A Russian drone penetrated Romanian airspace this week and headed deeper into the NATO country before turning back toward Moldova, highlighting the alliance’s increasingly difficult task of keeping unmanned aircraft out of its vulnerable skies.

The incident Tuesday came as NATO separately conducted a multinational nighttime exercise over Poland focused specifically on finding, identifying and intercepting drones, according to Spain’s defense ministry. The events showcase how drone warfare spilling out of Ukraine has become a main feature of the security environment on NATO’s eastern flank. In recent months, NATO jets have shot down encroaching drones on multiple occasions and scrambled in response to other incursions as hostilities ripple beyond Ukraine. In July, a wayward Russian missile crash-landed in Poland, stoking fear among nearby residents. The Romanian incident on Tuesday began when radar detected an aerial target west of Chisinau, Moldova, at