A MART脥NEZ, HOST:
Romania says a Russian drone entered its airspace on Saturday. The NATO member then scrambled military aircraft in response, and the drone changed course and flew into Ukraine. The latest alleged violation of NATO airspace comes days after NATO aircraft shot down Russian drones over Poland. Here's NPR's Rob Schmitz.
ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE: Romania's defense ministry said in a statement its pilots received authorization to shoot down the drone, but after assessing collateral risks, decided not to open fire. Russia reacted Monday morning, pointing at Ukraine saying without providing evidence that the incursion was a provocation by Kyiv. The militaries of both Romania and Poland were on high alert over the weekend as Russia launched drone attacks in neighboring Ukraine and conducted military exercises across Poland's border in Belarus.
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SCHMITZ: NATO fighter jets, like this French Strategic Air Force's Rafale, were active over Polish airspace to deter more Russian drones. On Friday, NATO announced plans to reinforce its eastern flank with additional deployments to the region. The European Union's foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas called Saturday's drone incursion into Romania yet another unacceptable breach of an EU member state's sovereignty.
In a social media post on X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, quote, "the Russian military knows exactly where their drones are headed and how long they can operate in the air. Their routes are always calculated. This cannot be a coincidence, a mistake or the initiative of some lower-level commanders. It is an obvious expansion of the war by Russia." U.S. President Donald Trump also weighed in on the breach of NATO airspace saying he was ready to impose tougher sanctions on Russia, but only if NATO countries met certain conditions, such as ceasing buying Russian oil.
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PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: (Non-English language spoken).
SCHMITZ: In a video address on X, Zelenskyy seemed to answer Trump's call for sanctions, saying the most effective sanctions, the ones that work the fastest, are the fires at Russia's oil refineries and oil depots. He made the post after Ukrainian drones hit one of Russia's top oil refineries Saturday night.
Rob Schmitz, NPR News, Berlin. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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