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Russian drones fly freely over Moldova and Romania

2025-12-01 13:53:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Residents of a Romanian village were shocked. On the morning of Tuesday, December 25, 2025, a Russian drone crashed into a farm in the village of Puiesti, 50 kilometers from the Romanian border with Moldova.

The terrified farm owner told local media that he was at home with his family when he heard a very loud explosion. The drone hit a tree. Many villagers later told Romanian media that they were equally terrified - some said they were afraid of war and were "packing their bags and leaving".

At about the same time, in Moldova, a Russian drone crashed into the roof of a hangar in the village of Cuhurestii de Jos, 15 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Residents there were also terrified. "You wake up in the morning and you don't know what to expect," an elderly villager told the Moldovan television station JurnalTV.

Fear gripped not only the residents of these two villages, but also the general public in Moldova and Romania. On Tuesday (25.11.2025), both countries suffered the most serious violations of their airspace by Russia since the start of the general attack on Ukraine. During the massive missile attack on Ukraine that morning, a total of six Russian drones entered Moldovan airspace, including the one that was shot down in Cuhurestii de Jos.

In Romania, the drone that crashed in Puiesti reportedly remained in the country's airspace for several hours, following a long trajectory over the eastern part of the country. Residents of several counties received warnings via mobile phones during that period.

Was it intentional?

In Moldova, which is militarily almost defenseless, there is no functioning air defense system, so the country was unable to shoot it down. In Romania, which is also a NATO member, the situation is different: four NATO fighter jets, including two with German pilots, took off, but reportedly lost sight of the drone several times, hesitating to shoot it down.

The two drones that were shot down were not armed with explosives. In Russian attacks on Ukraine, such drones are often used to deceive air defenses, but they can also be used for reconnaissance. The paths of the drones that entered Moldovan and Romanian airspace indicate that Russia deliberately directed them towards these countries.

They are suspected of flying from Crimea across the Black Sea to the Danube Delta, then to southern and central Moldova and eastern Romania. Unlike the Polish government, which in September 2025 accused Russia of deliberately sending a drone into Poland, Moldovan and Romanian authorities have not made such accusations.

Airspace violated dozens of times

The Russian ambassador to Moldova was summoned for talks on Tuesday. However, there has been no reaction from the authorities in Romania to Moscow so far. The Russian ambassador has been summoned to the Romanian Foreign Ministry several times in the past over similar incidents. The last time was in mid-November, when he was shown parts of a Russian drone that had crashed on Romanian territory.

In recent years, Russia has repeatedly violated the airspace of Moldova and Romania with both drones and missiles. There have also been explosions in Romania. The last explosion of a Russian drone on Romanian territory occurred on November 4, 2025, near the border triangle with Moldova and Ukraine, about ten kilometers from the city of Galati.

Early last week, residents of the village of Plauru in the Danube Delta were forced to evacuate after a Russian drone set fire to a liquefied gas tanker in the Ukrainian port of Ismail. A major explosion threatened. The Romanian village of Plauru is only about 250 meters from the Ukrainian coast at that point.

War is becoming an everyday occurrence.

For Moldova and Romania, Russia's war against Ukraine is increasingly a part of everyday life. Many people, especially in Romania as a NATO member, wonder what else needs to happen for the authorities and NATO forces on Romanian soil to react more decisively against such incidents. It is also interesting that the largest NATO base in Southeast Europe is located not far from the Romanian port of Constanta on the Black Sea.

"It's incomprehensible," a Digi24 television presenter commented on Tuesday: "Laws were passed to shoot down drones, orders were given, soldiers had a free hand, but the drone was not shot down."

Romanian Defense Minister Ionut Mosteanu, otherwise an ardent supporter of aid to Ukraine, found it difficult to find explanations. "We are not at war," he said, "we cannot shoot without thinking about the consequences."

"Playground for Russian drones"

In February 2025, the Romanian Parliament approved an amendment to the law that allows the shooting down of drones in Romanian airspace - something that was not possible before. The law came into force in May 2025. The fact that no Russian drone has been shot down since then is not seen as a problem by the current Romanian President, Nicusor Dan, who took office in May 2025.

On Wednesday, he made a surprisingly reassuring statement to Romanian media: “All these drones that enter our airspace from time to time – they are accidents.” Such incidents happen, he claimed, in many countries in Europe.

"These are technical problems." He did not specify exactly what he meant by "technical problems." Former Romanian President Traian Basescu, known for his harsh statements towards Russia, has a completely different view. He told Digi24 television: "A self-respecting state does not allow its airspace to become a playground for Russian drones." /DW