Ukraine-Russia war latest: Romania summons Russian envoy after second Nato country reports drone incursion – UK Times

Romania has summoned the Russian ambassador after accusing Moscow of an “unacceptable and irresponsible” breach of its airspace with a drone.

In the early hours yesterday, the Romanian defence ministry scrambled two F-16s to down a Russian drone in its airspace, just days after Poland confirmed an incursion by at least 19 Russian UAVs.

The Russian ambassador to Bucharest was summoned to protest the “violation of Romania’s sovereignty”, said Romanian foreign minister Oana Toi.

Romania’s defence ministry said it detected the Russian drone when two F-16 jets were monitoring the country’s border with Ukraine, after “Russian air attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure on the Danube”.

The drone was detected 20km (12.4 miles) south-west of the village of Chilia Veche before disappearing from radar.

It did not fly over populated areas or pose imminent danger, the ministry said.

Polish and allied aircraft were deployed in a “preventive” operation across Poland’s airspace on Saturday, prompting the temporary closure of Lublin airport, amid concerns over potential drone strikes in neighbouring Ukrainian regions.

This has heightened long-standing concerns about the expansion of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday morning, the US president said he believes the Russia-Ukraine war would end if all Nato countries stopped buying oil from Moscow and placed tariffs on China of 50 per cent to 100 per cent for its purchases of Russian petroleum.

He wrote: “As you know, NATO’S commitment to WIN has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian Oil, by some, has been shocking! It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia. Anyway, I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when?”

Ukraine may intentionally reduce the quality of mobile communications during Russian drone attacks to stop the networks being used to coordinate strikes, Chief of the General Staff Andriy Hnatov said yesterday.

“This is not a disruption of mobile communications, but rather a restriction on the quality of communications in certain areas, like a restriction on 4G and 5G communication,” Hnatov told Ukrainian online video channel Novyny Live.

“So that the modems they use on their unmanned aerial vehicles cannot access the internet of our communications operators,” he added.

Shutting down high-speed mobile internet can help in order to combat drones equipped with cameras that transmit images and require a 4G connection to operate, according to reports by local media.

Russia has ramped up drone attacks on Ukraine in recent months, enhancing its technology and increasing the number of drones deployed to maximise damage to strategic targets and key infrastructure.

Russia has frequently ordered mobile internet shutdowns to disrupt Ukrainian drone attacks during the war.

A significant Russian oil refinery was reportedly struck by Ukrainian drones overnight, sparking a fire, according to confirmations from both Russian officials and Ukraine’s military.

The attack on the Kirishi refinery, located in Russia’s northwestern Leningrad region, marks the latest in a series of Ukrainian assaults on Russian oil infrastructure.

Kyiv asserts these strikes are aimed at disrupting Moscow’s war efforts. Operated by Russian oil major Surgutneftegas, the facility boasts a substantial annual output of nearly 17.7 million metric tons of crude, equivalent to 355,000 barrels per day.

Ursula von der Leyen has condemned Russia’s reported incursion into Romanian airspace.

The EU commission president said in a post on X: “Russia’s incursion into Romanian airspace is once again a blatant violation of EU sovereignty and a serious threat to regional security.

“We are working closely with Romania and all Member States to protect the EU territory.”

When news broke this week of Russian drones encroaching on Polish airspace, it was not only Warsaw and Brussels that jolted to attention. Across Europe, and here in the UK, the grim question has once again surfaced: how prepared would we be, really, if the unthinkable happened and a major war broke out on our continent? Nato chiefs have been blunt, warning that civilians must be ready to play their part. And that raises a sobering thought: if war came, would we actually have the manpower for battle? Who would fight, and how quickly could civilians become soldiers?

This question may sound abstract in Britain in 2025. We have become used to thinking of our armed forces as a lean, professional volunteer body – a far cry from the days of mass mobilisation. Yet events in Poland, and Nato’s warnings about civilian preparedness, remind us that conflicts in Europe can escalate with terrifying speed. If deterrence failed, Britain would be faced with the reality of having to field far more troops than our current army of just over 70,000 regular full-time personnel could muster.

I have seen with my own eyes how civilians can, with the right training, be turned into credible fighting men. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been leading Operation Interflex, a multinational training programme for Ukrainian soldiers, since 2022. Initially a basic combat course for civilians, it has evolved into a seven-week programme with advanced leadership and instructor training, tailored to the needs of the Ukrainian armed forces.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Ukrainian forces had advanced in border districts of northern Sumy region, an area where Russian troops have tried for months to establish a foothold.

Zelensky, speaking in his nightly video address, also quoted Ukraine’s top commander as saying Moscow’s forces had suffered significant losses in Donetsk and Kharkiv regions along the 1,000-km (620-mile) frontline.

Zelensky was speaking after a week of Russian statements underscoring what Moscow described as gains in central Dnipropetrovsk region.

Russian troops are engaged in a slow push across eastern Ukraine, with nearly daily announcements of captured villages.

Moscow has annexed four regions it has partially occupied – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – but not Dnipropetrovsk where it has so far said it has taken a string of villages along the edge of its administrative border.

“There are good results in border areas of Sumy region,” Zelensky said, citing top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi. “Our units are continuing to advance in the direction of Ukraine’s state border.”

Since evicting Ukrainian forces from Russia’s Kursk region earlier this year, Russian troops have tried to set up what the Kremlin calls a buffer zone in Sumy region. Russia regularly shells larger towns, including the city of Sumy.

Zelensky said Russian forces had suffered notable losses near Kupiansk, an area in northeast Kharkiv region under sustained Russian pressure for months.

“We continue to operate in the Dobropillia direction,” he said, referring to a town near Pokrovsk, one of the focal points of Russia’s long-running drive through Donetsk region. “It is important that Russian assaults are being repelled by our boys.”

The Russia-appointed head of parts of Donetsk region under Moscow’s control, Denis Pushilin, said in a video posted online that Russian forces were pressing on with a pincer movement near villages around Pokrovsk.

Further to the west, the governor of Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin, said on Telegram that two people had died in shelling and drone attacks in different parts of the region.