WarJuly 26, 2026 3:03 pm • 2 min readA Romanian Air Force F-16 fighter jet waiting for an aerial refueling, while they participate in the "Ramstein Flag 2024" exercice. (Photo by CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU / AFP) (Photo by CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU/AFP via Getty Images)A Romanian Air Force F-16 fighter jet shot down a drone that violated Romanian airspace on July 26, marking the third such incident in three days, President Nicușor Dan wrote on X .The drone was shot down at 10:13 a.m. over Romanian territorial waters in the Sulina–Chilia area of the Danube Delta, near the border with Ukraine.According to an investigation by Romania’s General Prosecutor’s Office, the drone shot down on July 24 was a Shahed-type UAV used by Russia in its war against Ukraine. Investigations into the drones downed on July 25 and July 26 are ongoing.“It is inadmissible and intolerable for the Russian Federation to continue violating Romania’s airspace, which is also NATO and European Union airspace. Such actions are unacceptable, and we treat them with the utmost seriousness, together with our allies,” Dan wrote on X.The president added that Romania’s diplomatic protest against Russia would be based on the findings of the investigations.Soon afterward, Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had summoned Russia’s ambassador.These were not the first drone incidents in Romania. On May 29, a Russian drone struck a residential building in the Romanian city of Galați, injuring two people.Romania’s Defense Ministry said previous drone incidents had also been recorded in January 2025, February 2025 and April 2026.