Romania’s Parliament approves shooting down drones that violate its airspace

On February 26, the upper house of the Romanian parliament, the Senate, passed a law that allows shooting down drones that violate Romania’s airspace.

The adopted law stipulates that drones that illegally cross the Romanian state border and fly in the national airspace without permission “may be destroyed, neutralized, or taken under control.”

Once approved by the parliament, the law will be signed by the president, whose duties are performed by Ilies Bolojan.

According to the law, certain parts of the Romanian Army can be moved for set amounts of time and with varying levels of authority based on operational needs. They will work with the commander of a foreign army conducting a military operation in the territory of the modern Romanian state.

Draft Law on the Control of the Use of National Airspace, art. 21, paragraph 1: “An aircraft without a pilot on board that illegally crosses the state border of Romania and flies in the national airspace without authorization may be destroyed, neutralized or control may be taken over.”

In late October 2024, the Romanian Ministry of Defense submitted for public discussion a draft law that strengthens measures to regulate airspace, drones, and other aircraft.

In December 2024, the Romanian government approved the bill.

As known, the wreckage of attack drones used by Russia to attack the southern regions of Ukraine has been repeatedly found in the border area on the Romanian bank of the Danube.

On March 29, the wreckage of a Russian drone similar to a Shahed (Geranium-2) was found 8 kilometers from the large Romanian city of Braila, which is located more than 20 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. It is reported that the drone wreckage was found on agricultural land on an island along the Danube River.

On July 25, 2024, the wreckage of Shahed-type attack drones used by Russia to attack the Odesa region was found in Romania. Near the village of Plauru, wreckage was found that probably belonged to Russian Shahed/Geranium attack drones.

On the night of July 25, one Shahed flew 11 kilometers into Romanian territory during an attack on the Ukrainian town of Vilkovo.

“More heinous attacks have been perpetrated by Russia against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. Debris has been found on Romanian territory. We have informed and are coordinating with our allies on this matter. Romania strongly condemns these irresponsible actions,” Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu wrote.

On September 9, 2024, the wreckage of a Russian war drone was spotted in the Romanian county of Tulcea, near the Ukrainian border.

The Russian Federation attacked civilian targets and port infrastructure in Ukraine on the night of September 8, and one of the drones flew across the border. In response, Romania raised two F-16 fighter jets “to monitor the air situation.”

The Romanian authorities also “strongly condemned these attacks carried out by the Russian Federation against Ukrainian civilian objects and infrastructure.”

NATO called Russia’s violation of Romanian airspace potentially dangerous but did not recognize the appearance of Russian drones in the skies over the country as a deliberate attack.