Romania scrambles F-16 fighter jets after Russian drone enters NATO member state’s airspace
Romania has become the last NATO member state to report a drone incursion in its airspace on Saturday, while Polish planes scrambled in response to Russian drone strikes just above the border in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia deliberately extended its drone operations and that the West should respond with more strict sanctions and narrower cooperation.
In Washington, US President Donald Trump said he was ready to impose major sanctions on Russia – as soon as all NATO nations have done the same thing and have stopped buying Russian oil.
The Romanian Ministry of Defense said on Saturday that the country’s airspace was raped by a drone during a Russian attack on neighboring Ukraine infrastructure.
The country scraped two F-16 fighter planes late on Saturday to monitor the situation following strikes, said a statement from the Ministry of Defense.
The jets “detected a drone in national airspace” and followed it until “it disappears from the radar” near the Romanian village of Chilia Veche, added.
Also on Saturday, Poland said that and its NATO allies had deployed helicopters and planes while Russian drones hit Ukraine not far from its border.
Romania has become the last NATO member state to report a drone incursion in its airspace on Saturday, while Polish planes scrambled in response to Russian drone strikes just above the border in Ukraine. In the photo: Romanian pilots Air Force Flying F-16 Fighter Jets in August
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia deliberately extended its drone operations and that the West should respond with more strict sanctions and closer cooperation
In Washington, US President Donald Trump said he was ready to impose major sanctions on Russia – as soon as all NATO nations have done the same thing and have stopped buying Russian oil
A building in the automotive repair workshop remains destroyed after a Russian drone attack on September 12, 2025 in Sumy, Ukraine
Due to the threat of the drone, “Polish and allies planes operate in our airspace, and air defense and radar recognition systems have reached their highest alert level”, the country’s military command published in a press release on X.
Later on Saturday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that the high alert had been lifted, while warning: “We remain vigilant”.
Poland and its NATO countries were on their care since Warsaw said that nearly 20 Russian drones had entered the airspace during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.
While Russia denies having targeted Poland, several European countries, including France, Germany and Sweden, have intensified their support for the defense of Polish airspace in response.
“Today, Romania has scrambled combat aircraft due to a Russian drone in its airspace,” said Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Also today, Poland responded militarily to the threat of Russian attack drones”, which had also been active in different regions of Ukraine all day, he added.
The Russian army knows exactly where their drones are heading and how long they can operate in the air, “said Zelensky.
Later on Saturday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that the high alert had been lifted, while warning: “We remain vigilant”
The firefighters work on the site of a Russian drone strike on September 12, 2025 in Sumy, Ukraine
The latest drone incursions were “an obvious expansion of war by Russia,” he added.
What was necessary in response are new sanctions against Russia and a collective defense system, argued Zelensky.
“Do not wait for dozens of” shahed “and ballistic missiles before finally making decisions,” he warned, referring to Shahed drones designed by Iran that Russia uses.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed Russian drone in Polish airspace on Saturday in the week on Saturday.
If he turned out to be deliberate, “then it will obviously be … highly climbing,” he told journalists in Washington.
Trump’s suggestion on Thursday that the incident could have occurred by “error”, was quickly rejected by Tusk.
Trump returned to the issue of sanctions against Russia on Saturday, awarded the Ball to the Court of its NATO allies.
“I am ready to make major sanctions against Russia when all NATO nations have accepted and have started to do the same thing, and when all NATO nations stop buying Russia oil,” he said in an article on his Truth social platform.
Trump has repeatedly threatened sanctions against Russia without following.
In Russia, an official reported that a Ukrainian drone had struck one of his largest oil refining complexes, 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) of the first line in Ukraine.
The drone had sparked a fire and caused minor damage to the complex, which belongs to the Russian oil company Bashneft, and is on the outskirts of the Central City of UFA.
A source from Ukraine Gur Military Intelligence Agency claimed the responsibility of the attack.
Since Moscow launched its large -scale military offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, kyiv responded with attacks on Russian refineries in order to curb the Kremlin’s ability to finance the conflict thanks to its fossil fuel industry.
