Romania declared a Russian embassy staff member persona non grata and ordered the diplomat to leave the country within five days, after Bucharest summoned Russian Ambassador Vladimir Lipaev to protest three days of airspace violations.
The incursions occurred between 24 and 26 July, during which Romanian F-16s shot down three drones, one identified as a Shahed. Bucharest spent approximately 1.5 million euros on the interceptions, the foreign ministry said.
Russia rejected the accusations as baseless propaganda and threatened retaliatory measures in response to the expulsion. Poland condemned the Russian drone violations of Romanian airspace.