Romania expels Russian embassy staff, summons Ambassador after drone incursions

Romania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said Monday that an employee of the Russian Embassy had been declared persona non grata and ordered to leave the country within five days, reported Xinhua.

The ministry said the Russian ambassador to Romania had been summoned on the instructions of Romanian Foreign Minister Oana-Silvia Toiu.

The summons was a firm response to repeated violations of Romanian airspace in recent days, the ministry said on Facebook. The Russian diplomat was shown fragments of a drone destroyed on Romanian territory that prosecutors had officially confirmed to be of Russian origin.

According to Romania's Ministry of National Defense, the country shot down three drones that violated its airspace on three consecutive days between July 24 and 26.

The ministry also said Romania's ambassador to Moscow would be recalled for consultations.

On May 29, a Russian drone entered Romanian airspace and crashed into a residential building, sparking a fire and injuring two people. In response, Romania announced the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Constanta and declared the Russian consul general persona non grata.

Russia subsequently declared Romania's consul general in St. Petersburg persona non grata and closed the Romanian Consulate General there.