War in Ukraine: Romania denies Ukrainian military claims Russian missile strayed into NATO airspace

The foreign ministry of Nato member Romania has denied claims by the Ukrainian military that two Russian missiles encroached into its airspace on Friday morning.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, issued a statement claiming the missiles had crossed over the border with Moldova at 10:18am, Ukrainian time. The statement said the missles then 15 minutes later crossed into the airspace of Nato member, Romania, before returning to Ukraine.

However, Romania’s foreign ministry insisted the missiles had not come within 35km of the Romanian border. It said it had scrambled two of its military aircraft, under Nato command, when the missile launch was first detected, however, it had instructed the planes to stand down after two minutes.

If the missiles had flown over Romania, it could have been considered a violation of Nato air space and could escalate tensions between Russia and the West. Section five of the Nato treaty says any attack on a Nato member in Europe or North America “shall be considered an attack against them all”.

Romania is regarded as a strategic geographic location for NATO forces.

Moldova, which is not a member of Nato, has confirmed the missiles crossed into its airspace and has summoned Russian ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov over the incident.

Mr Zaluzhnyi said: “Today, February 10, at 10:18 am, two Russian Kalibr cruise missiles crossed the state border of with the Republic of Moldova. At 10:33 am, these missiles crossed the airspace of Romania. After that, the missiles again entered the airspace of Ukraine at the crossing point of the borders of the three states.

"The missiles were launched from the Black Sea.”

The Romanian Foreign Ministry said: “The aerial surveillance system of the Romanian Air Force detected on Friday, February 10, an aerial target launched from the Black Sea from a ship of the Russian Federation, near the Crimean Peninsula, most likely a cruise missile, which evolved in the airspace of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and re-entered the Ukrainian airspace without intersecting, at any time, the airspace of Romania.

“The closest point of the target's trajectory to Romania's airspace was recorded by the radar systems as approximately 35km north-east of the border.”

The statement added: “The Romanian Air Force constantly monitors, in co-operation with the Allied forces, the national airspace and the area in the vicinity.”

Romania joined Nato in 2004, following the decision taken by the bloc at the Prague Summit. It has been regarded as a strategic position for Nato forces due to its geographic location.

Romania has bought seven Patriot (Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target) anti-aircraft systems from the US. However, it is understood so far only four have been delivered – and will not be full operational until April.

At the end of last year, a missile strike that had gone off course landed in Poland, killing two people on a farm near the village of Przewodow, while on two other occasions, stray missiles have landed in Moldova, close to the Ukrainian border.

It comes as Russia unleashed strategic bombers, killer drones and rockets in a barrage of attacks on Ukrainian targets. The assault comes as a Russian military push that Kyiv says has been brewing for days appeared to pick up pace ahead of the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.