The Romanian Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday that the country's airspace was violated by a Russian drone attack on infrastructure in neighboring Ukraine, TASR reported, citing an AFP report.

Bucharest sent two F-16 fighter jets to monitor the situation on Saturday evening after the “presence of a drone in national airspace was detected.” The fighters monitored the drone until it “disappeared from radar” near one of the border villages, the ministry said. The drone “did not fly over populated areas and did not pose an immediate threat to the safety of the population,” the statement said. Authorities were prepared to launch a search for “possible debris.”

"According to current data, the drone penetrated Romanian territory to a depth of about ten kilometers and operated in NATO airspace for approximately 50 minutes," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on the X platform.

"The Romanian Air Force today intercepted a Russian drone that violated our airspace. Two F-16 fighters from the 86th Air Base tracked it until it disappeared near the town of Chilia Veche. The population was not in danger," Ionut Mosteanu, the Minister of Defense, clarified on the social network X.

"Romania condemns Russia's reckless behavior, which threatens regional stability. Together with our allies, we remain vigilant and ready to defend every inch of allied airspace," he added.

The incident came after Poland this week condemned the violation of its airspace by Russian drones and called on Moscow to avoid “further provocations.” Romania has seen several drone crashes on its territory since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.