The drone orbited for about 50 minutes, according to a statement from the defence ministry, before leaving national airspace near the town of Pardina in northern Dobruja, heading towards Ukraine.

The Russian Ministry of Defence has not commented on the claims.

The F-16 fighter jets had intermittent contact with the drone – visually and by radar – the statement said. Its pilots received authorisation to shoot it down but decided not to open fire after assessing the collateral risks.

“The Ministry of National Defence firmly condemns the irresponsible actions of the Russian Federation and emphasises that they represent a new challenge to regional security and stability in the Black Sea area,” the statement said.

The ministry added that the incident demonstrates a “lack of respect for the norms of international law” by Russia. It also endangers the safety of Romanian citizens and the collective security of NATO, the ministry said.

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, condemned the violation of Romanian airspace as “yet another unacceptable breach of an EU member state’s sovereignty”.

“This continued reckless escalation threatens regional security,” Kallas wrote in a post on X.

“We stand in solidarity with Romania. I am in close contact with the Romanian government.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted about the incident on X on Sunday.

“Today, Romania scrambled combat aircraft because of a Russian drone in its airspace. According to current data, the drone penetrated about 10 kilometres into Romanian territory and operated in NATO airspace for around 50 minutes,” he said.

In light of the incident, Zelensky reiterated calls for sanctions against Russia and collective defence.

“Do not wait for dozens of ‘shaheds’ and ballistic missiles before finally making decisions,” he said.