WW3 fears explode after Russian drones violate Nato airspace in TWO countries

Bucharest dispatched F-16 warplanes to monitor its airspace, whilst Nato allies were kept informed of the situation, Romania's Ministry of National Defence reported. An investigation has also been launched.

The government also issued text alerts to residents of two eastern regions following the airspace violation.

“From existing data, the possibility of an impact zone on national territory was identified, in an uninhabited area near the village of Periprava,” the ministry added.

Meanwhile, Latvia's Defence Minister Andris Spruds said that a drone fell the day prior near the town of Rezekne.

He said it was likely to have strayed into the country from Belarus, an ally of Russia.

“This situation is a confirmation that we need to continue the work we have started to strengthen Latvia’s eastern border, including the development of air defence capabilities and electronic warfare capabilities to limit the activities of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] of different applications,” said Spruds.

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Edgar Rinkevics, the Latvian president, wrote on social media: “We are in close contact with our allies. The number of such incidents is increasing along the eastern flank of Nato, and we must address them collectively.”

Bucharest has recorded drone fragments on its soil since Moscow invaded Kyiv in 2022, and has now urged Moscow to stop what it deems an escalation.

The Romanian Defence Ministry strongly condemned the war, calling Russian attacks “unjustified and in serious contradiction with the norms of international law”.

Mircea Geoana, Nato’s outgoing deputy secretary-general, who is Romanian, said: “Nato condemns the overnight Russian airspace violation into Romanian airspace.

“While we have no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against Allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous.”

Lawmakers in Romania are looking at implementing legislation which will allow them to shoot down drones which infiltrate the country’s airspace in peacetime.

Romania and Latvia are not the only countries to have fallen victims to drone strikes since the war began. In November 2022, a Russian missile hit Poland, killing two people.

However, none of these incidents have signified enough of a breach to trigger any of Nato’s collective responses.