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Incident in Romania comes days after Russian drones were shot down after entering Polish airspace
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The Romanian defence ministry scrambled two F-16 fighter jets on Sunday after detecting a drone breaching the country’s airspace, just days after Poland confirmed it detected a Russian drone incursion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the drone breached about 10 kilometers into Romanian territory and operated in NATO airspace for around 50 minutes.
He warned that the incident was “an obvious expansion” of Russia’s war beyond Ukraine’s borders, and once again called for tougher sanctions against Moscow.
“Romania condemns Russia’s behaviour and takes the necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and security,” Romanian foreign minister Toiu Oana wrote on X.
Romania’s move comes after Nato announced plans to beef up the defence of Europe’s eastern flank, and the US has vowed to defend “every inch” of its ally as Russian drones breached Polish airspace last week.
The US has joined other Nato countries to express concern about Russian drones entering Poland, accusing Moscow of violating international law and the founding UN Charter.
But on Saturday Donald Trump said he would only introduce new sanctions if Nato countries stopped using Russian oil.
Laser beams, robodogs and drone-zapping microwaves, these are the types of weapons that could be deployed on battlefields in the not too distant future. Some are already here.
The threat of a wider war in Europe feels increasingly real to many on the continent, after Russia’s drone incursion into Poland sparked fears that Russian aggression will continue to spill beyond Ukraine’s borders.
The Ukraine war has revolutionised military conflict, with futuristic weapons, such as fibre-optic drones which are immune to jamming and radio frequency detection, drone protection nets, and ground robots, all used by Moscow and Kyiv’s forces.
Now, weapons being developed and tested by the biggest militaries in the world are making science fiction a reality, with ever increasing reliance on artificial intelligence (AI).
Click here for the full story.
According to Ukraine’s general staff, explosions and a fire were reported at the Kirishi refinery. It posted a photo appearing to show a blaze and clouds of smoke against a night sky.
Regional governor Alexander Drozdenko said three drones were downed overnight in the Kirishi area, with falling debris sparking a fire at the facility. He said no-one was injured, and the blaze was put out.
Russia remains the world’s second largest oil exporter, but a seasonal rise in demand and sustained Ukrainian drone strikes have caused shortages in recent weeks.
Fuel stations have run dry in some regions of the country, with motorists waiting in long queues and officials resorting to rationing or cutting off sales altogether.
To try to ease the shortage, Russia has paused fuel exports, with officials on Wednesday declaring a full ban until September 30 and a partial ban affecting traders and intermediaries until October 31.
Ukrainian drones have struck one of Russia’s largest oil refineries, sparking a fire, according to Russian officials and Ukraine’s military.
The strike on the Kirishi refinery, in Russia’s north-western Leningrad region, follows weeks of Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure that Kyiv says fuels Moscow’s war effort.
The facility, operated by Russian oil major Surgutneftegas, produces close to 355,000 barrels per day of crude.
More than three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, drones have emerged as a key weapon for both sides.
Multiple Russian drones crossed into Poland on Wednesday, prompting Nato to send fighter jets to shoot them down and underlining long-held concerns that the fighting might spill over beyond Ukraine’s borders.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian the drone breached about 10 kilometers into Romanian territory and operated in NATO airspace for around 50 minutes.
“It is an obvious expansion of the war by Russia, and this is exactly how they act,” he said. “Sanctions against Russia are needed. Tariffs against Russian trade are needed. Collective defense is needed.”
NATO announced plans to beef up the defense of Europe’s eastern flank on Friday, after Poland shot down drones that had violated its airspace, the first known shots fired by a member of the Western alliance during Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Romanian lawmakers approved a law earlier this year enabling the army to shoot down drones illegally breaching Romanian airspace during peacetime, based on threat levels and risks to human life and property, but the bill does not yet have all enforcement rules approved.
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard wrote on platform X that the airspace breach was “another unacceptable violation of NATO airspace.”
“Sweden stands in full solidarity with Romania as a NATO Ally and EU Member State. We are always ready to contribute further to the deterrence and defence of the Alliance.”
Ukraine may intentionally reduce the quality of mobile communications during Russian drone attacks to stop the networks being used to coordinate strikes, Chief of the General Staff Andriy Hnatov was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Three and a half years into the war, Russia has ramped up drone attacks on Ukraine in recent months, enhancing its technology and increasing the number of drones deployed to maximise damage to strategic targets and key infrastructure.
“This is not a disruption of mobile communications, but rather a restriction on the quality of communications in certain areas, like a restriction on 4G and 5G communication,” Hnatov told Ukrainian online video channel Novyny Live.
“So that the modems they use on their unmanned aerial vehicles cannot access the internet of our communications operators,” he added.
Shutting down high-speed mobile internet makes sense in order to combat drones equipped with cameras that transmit images and require a 4G connection to operate, according to reports by local media.
Russia has frequently ordered mobile internet shutdowns to disrupt Ukrainian drone attacks during the war.
The Russian drone that reportedly made an incursion into Romanian airspace was spotted near the village of Chilia Veche, according to the Nato country’s defence ministry.
Romania scrambled F-16 fighter jets after detecting a drone breaching the country’s airspace.
The F-16 jets tracked the drone until it “dropped off the radar 20 km southwest of the village of Chilia Veche”, the ministry said in a statement.
Russia has test-fired its Zircon (Tsirkon) hypersonic cruise missile at a target in the Barents Sea off Norway’s coast, the country’s defence ministry said.
The thermonuclear-capable missile, which Putin calls an “invincible” weapon, can cover a range of over 1,000 km and target both enemy ships and ground targets.
When the missile was fired for the first time last year, Putin said it carries over Mach 8 speed and was part of Russia’s new generation of unrivalled arms systems.
Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social that Nato allies placing a 50 per cent to 100 per cent tariff on China till Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ends “will be of great help in ending this deadly, but ridiculous war”.
“China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip,” the US president said.
“If Nato does as I say, the war will end quickly, and all of those lives will be saved! If not, you are just wasting my time, and the time, energy, and money of the US,” Trump wrote.
Russia and Belarus continued their joint military exercises yesterday, with parts of the Russian Northern Fleet, Baltic Fleet, Moscow Military District, and Aerospace Forces participating in ground, sea, and air defence drills.
The troops practised tactical techniques to “minimise the risk of detection by an adversary, defensive engineering techniques, drone aerial reconnaissance, and defending hazardous chemical facilities”, according to ISW.
They reportedly conducted the exercises at the 227th Combined Arms Training Ground in Barysaw, Minsk Oblast and the Lesishche Training Ground in Minsk Oblast.
The drills are part of plans to integrate Belarus into Russian-favourable frameworks, the ISW noted.
Romania scrambled two F-16 fighter jets after detecting a drone breaching the country’s airspace days after Poland confirmed it had shot down Russian drones in its airspace.
The Romanian defence ministry said it detected a drone breaching the country’s airspace during a Russian attack on Ukrainian infrastructure.
The F-16 jets tracked the drone until it “dropped off the radar 20 km southwest of the village of Chilia Veche”, the ministry said in a statement.
Romania, which is a NATO and EU member, shares a 650 km (400-mile) border with Ukraine and has frequently reported Russian drone fragments landing in its territory.
“Romania condemns Russia’s behaviour and takes the necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and security,” Romanian foreign minister Toiu Oana wrote on X.
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