28.11.2025. 16:47h
Residents of a Romanian village were in shock. On Tuesday morning, November 25, 2025, a Russian drone crashed into a property in the village of Puesti, 50 kilometers from Romania’s border with Moldova. The terrified owner of the property told local media that he was inside with his family when a very loud explosion was heard. The drone hit a tree. Many villagers later told Romanian media that they were also terrified. Some said they were afraid of war and were “packing their bags and leaving.”
Almost simultaneously, in Moldova, a Russian drone crashed onto the roof of a hangar in the village of Cuhuresti 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 local woman told Moldovan television.
Fear gripped not only the residents of the two villages, but also throughout Moldova and Romania. On Tuesday, November 25, the two countries experienced the most severe violations of their airspace by Russia since the start of its all-out assault on Ukraine. During the massive missile attack on Ukraine that morning, a total of six Russian drones entered Moldovan airspace, including the one that crashed in Cuhuresti de Jos.
In Romania, a drone that crashed near Puesti was reportedly in Romanian 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 functional air defense system, so the country was unable to shoot down the aircraft. In Romania, a NATO member, the situation is different: four Alliance fighter jets were scrambled, including two with German pilots – but they reportedly lost sight of the drone several times while they hesitated to shoot it down.
The two drones that crashed were not armed with explosives. In Russian attacks on Ukraine, such aircraft are often used to deceive air defenses, but they can also be used for reconnaissance. The trajectories of the drones that entered Moldovan and Romanian airspace suggest that Russia deliberately directed them towards those countries.
They allegedly flew 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.
photo: Shutterstock
Airspace violated dozens of times
In Moldova, the Russian ambassador was summoned for talks on Tuesday. In Romania, however, there has been no reaction from the authorities towards Moscow for now. However, the Russian ambassador has been summoned to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs several times before due to similar incidents. The last time was in mid-November, when he was shown parts of a Russian drone that had crashed on Romanian territory.
Russia has repeatedly violated the airspace of Moldova and Romania in recent years, both with drones and missiles. There have also been explosions in Romania. The last detonation of a Russian drone on Romanian territory occurred on November 4, 2025, near the tri-border 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 had to be evacuated after a Russian drone set fire to a liquefied gas tanker in the Ukrainian port of Izmail. A huge explosion threatened. The Romanian village of Plauru is only about 250 meters from the Ukrainian coast at that point.
War becomes everyday life
For Moldova and Romania, Russia’s war against Ukraine is increasingly becoming a part of everyday life. Many, especially in Romania as a NATO member, are wondering what else needs to happen for the authorities and Alliance forces on Romanian soil to react more decisively to 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 host commented on Tuesday. “Laws on shooting down drones were passed, orders were issued, soldiers had a free hand, and yet the drone was not shot down.” Romanian Defense Minister Jonuc Moșteanu, otherwise a staunch supporter of helping Ukraine, struggled to find an explanation. “We are not at war,” he said, “we cannot just shoot without thinking about the consequences.”
photo: Beta / AP
“Promenade for Russian drones”
In February 2025, the Romanian parliament passed amendments to the law that allow drones to be shot down 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, Nicos Dan, who took office in May 2025.
On Wednesday, he made a surprisingly reassuring statement to Romanian media: “All those drones that enter our airspace from time to time – well, those are accidents.” Such incidents, he claims, happen in many places in Europe. “They are technical problems.” He did not specify exactly what “technical problems” meant.
Former Romanian President Traian Basescu, known for his harsh statements towards Russia, has a completely different view. He said on Digi24 television: “A self-respecting country does not allow its airspace to become a playground for Russian drones.”
News