On Saturday, September 13, 2025, the skies above Eastern Europe crackled with tension as Romania became the latest NATO member to report a Russian drone incursion into its airspace. This event, which unfolded during a Russian attack on Ukrainian infrastructure just across the border, marked a worrying escalation in the ongoing conflict and set off a flurry of military and diplomatic responses across the region.
Romania’s defense ministry announced that two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled late Saturday to monitor the situation after detecting a drone in national airspace. The jets tracked the unmanned aircraft until it vanished from radar near the village of Chilia Veche, a small settlement nestled along the Danube Delta. According to the ministry, the drone did not fly over inhabited areas and did not pose an immediate threat to Romanian citizens, but the incident nevertheless prompted authorities to search for potential debris and left many Romanians on edge.
It wasn’t just Romania facing drone-related anxiety. Just hours before, Poland and its NATO allies had also scrambled helicopters and aircraft as Russian drones struck Ukraine near the Polish border. The Polish military’s operational command took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce that ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems had reached their highest level of alert. "These actions are preventative in nature and aimed at securing airspace and protecting citizens, especially in areas adjacent to the threatened area," the Command said in a statement cited by Reuters.
The heightened alert in Poland lasted two tense hours, during which the eastern city of Lublin saw its airport closed to all air traffic. The Polish Air Navigation Services Agency explained that the closure was due to military aviation activities, and the government security center warned residents in several border counties of a potential air attack. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk later announced that the high alert had been lifted, but he cautioned, "We remain vigilant." This measured tone reflected the new normal for Poland, which has seen its airspace repeatedly threatened by Russian drones since the start of the war in Ukraine over three years ago.
The latest string of drone incursions began overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, when nearly 20 Russian drones reportedly crossed into Polish airspace. In response, Poland activated its air defense systems and, with the help of NATO allies, shot down the drones—a first since the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022. Russia, for its part, denied targeting Poland, while its ally Belarus claimed that the drones had gone astray due to electronic jamming. European leaders, however, have expressed little doubt that the incursions were a deliberate provocation by Moscow.
“Today, Romania scrambled combat aircraft because of a Russian drone in its airspace. Also today, Poland responded militarily to the threat of Russian attack drones, which had also been active in different regions of Ukraine all day,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Saturday. He warned that the Russian military "knows exactly where their drones are headed and how long they can operate in the air," describing the latest incursions as "an obvious expansion of the war by Russia." Zelenskyy’s message was clear: the West must not wait for dozens of Iranian-designed Shahed drones and ballistic missiles to rain down before taking decisive action. "Do not wait for dozens of 'shaheds' and ballistic missiles before finally making decisions," he urged, calling for fresh sanctions against Russia and a collective defense system.
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed concerns about the situation, particularly the Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace earlier in the week. "If it turned out to have been deliberate, then obviously it will be ... highly escalatory," Rubio told reporters, highlighting the risk that such incidents could spiral into a broader conflict involving NATO. At the same time, former President Donald Trump weighed in, stating that he was ready to impose major sanctions on Russia—provided all NATO nations agreed to do the same and stopped buying Russian oil. "I am ready to do major sanctions on Russia when all NATO nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO nations stop buying oil from Russia," Trump posted on social media, a stance that put the onus on America's allies to match U.S. resolve.
The broader context is impossible to ignore. Since launching its full-scale military offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has increasingly relied on drone warfare to target Ukrainian infrastructure and, as these latest incidents show, to test the resolve and airspace integrity of neighboring NATO countries. The use of Iranian-designed Shahed drones, in particular, has complicated air defense efforts and forced NATO members to bolster their military readiness along the alliance’s eastern flank. In response, countries like France, Germany, and Sweden have stepped up support for defending Polish airspace, deploying additional aircraft and resources as part of NATO’s collective security measures.
The drone threat has also had tangible effects on civilian life. The closure of Lublin Airport in eastern Poland, for instance, disrupted travel and underscored the unpredictable nature of modern warfare, where unmanned systems can force entire regions into lockdown at a moment’s notice. For many in Eastern Europe, these events serve as a stark reminder that the conflict in Ukraine is anything but contained—and that the risks of escalation are ever-present.
Meanwhile, on the Russian side, officials reported that a Ukrainian drone had struck one of the country’s largest oil refining complexes in Ufa, 1,400 kilometers from the frontlines. The attack, which sparked a fire and caused minor damage, was claimed by Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency and was part of Kyiv’s ongoing effort to disrupt Russia’s ability to fund its war effort through fossil fuel exports. This tit-for-tat escalation, with drones flying further and further afield, has added a new and unpredictable dimension to the conflict.
As the dust settles from the weekend’s drone drama, one thing is clear: Eastern Europe’s security environment is more volatile than ever. With Russian drones probing NATO airspace and Western leaders grappling with how best to respond, the line between war and peace has rarely felt so thin. For now, vigilance remains the order of the day—but as President Zelenskyy and others have warned, the time for decisive action may be fast approaching.