Russian missile flew 140 kilometers over Moldova and Romania before reaching Ukraine

On the morning of 25 December, a Russian cruise missile entered Ukraine through Romanian and Moldovan airspace during a massive morning attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, according to the Ukrainian airspace monitoring channel Monitor, Militarnyi reports.

Russian aerial weapons regularly breach NATO airspace during Moscow’s attacks against Ukraine, but the Alliance has refrained from shooting down Russian missiles and drones, fearing potential escalation from Russia for defending its own territory.

Monitor says the cruise missile traveled approximately 140 kilometers through Moldovan and Romanian airspace before reaching its final trajectory in Ukraine’s Chernivtsi Oblast. The missile reportedly passed from the Yampil area in Vinnytsia Oblast through Romania’s Botoșani County near Darabani.

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The Romanian Ministry of Defense and NATO contingent in Romania have not yet commented on the incident. It remains unclear whether Romanian and NATO air defense systems detected the missile when it crossed the Romanian border.

Not the first incident

This is not the first instance of Russian aerial weapons violating Romanian airspace. In February 2023, reports emerged about a Russian missile crossing Romania’s state border during an attack on Ukraine. However, Romanian defense officials disputed this account.

Additionally, Romania has documented multiple instances of Russian Shahed kamikaze drones in its territory. Multiple drones crashed in Romania in September and October. In July 2024, Romanian Foreign Minister Luminița Odobescu confirmed the discovery of Shahed drone fragments following Russian attacks on Odesa region on 25 July. Earlier this year and in 2023, the country saw even more drone crashes.

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