Romania Expels Russian Diplomat After F-16s Shoot Down Three Shahed Drones in 72 Hours

Fourth breach triggers the diplomatic response

On July 27, a fourth drone crossed Romanian airspace over the Danube Delta. Although it returned to Ukrainian airspace without being engaged, the Romanian Foreign Ministry responded by declaring one Russian embassy employee persona non grata (giving him five days to leave) and recalling Romania's ambassador to Moscow for consultations . Russian ambassador Vladimir Lipaev was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he was shown fragments of a drone destroyed over Romanian territory that prosecutors confirmed to be of Russian origin .

Prior Galați strike in May 2026

On May 29, 2026, a Russian Shahed (Geran-2) drone crashed into a residential apartment building in the city of Galați, igniting a fire and injuring two people . A forensic report later formally confirmed the drone was a Russian Geran-2; fragments found at the scene bore the inscription “GERAN-2” in Cyrillic, and the UAV’s electronic components and structural elements were identical to those previously found on other drones of the same type . In response, Romania expelled Russia's consul general in Constanța and ordered the closure of the Russian Black Sea consulate .

NATO's response

NATO condemned the Galați strike in May, with Secretary General Mark Rutte stating the alliance was "prepared to defend every inch" of its territory . During the July incursions, scrambles were conducted under NATO command and control, with a senior NATO military spokesman calling the violations "unacceptable and intolerable" . NATO has not, however, activated Article 5, as the incursions have been framed as repeated airspace violations rather than a "sustained" attack triggering collective defense . The United States ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, pledged the alliance will "defend every inch" of its territory .

What this means

Romania's decision to expel a Russian diplomat and recall its ambassador marks a significant deterioration in bilateral relations, driven by the increasing frequency and severity of drone incursions. The three consecutive F-16 shootdowns represent a historic first for a NATO member state, and the diplomatic response signals that Bucharest is no longer willing to treat these violations as mere spillover from the war in Ukraine.