According to available information, Russian authorities did not specify the reason for summoning the Romanian diplomat. The summons comes amid tense relations between Russia and European Union and NATO member states, including Romania.
In fact, at the end of July, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) summoned the Russian Federation’s ambassador to Bucharest in response to repeated violations of Romania’s airspace between July 24 and 26, when the Romanian Army shot down three drones that had entered the country’s territory without authorization. At the end of the meeting, a Russian diplomat was officially notified that he had been declared persona non grata and must leave Romania within five days. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the Ambassador of the Russian Federation had been summoned to the ministry’s headquarters at the direction of Foreign Minister Oana Țoiu to be informed of Romania’s official protest against the repeated violations of its national airspace.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, between July 24 and 26, the Romanian Army shot down three drones that had entered the country’s territory without authorization. During the meeting, Romanian officials presented the ambassador with fragments from one of the destroyed drones, and the Ministry states that investigations conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office have officially confirmed that they are of Russian origin. The Romanian side lodged a strong protest against what it described as illegal and irresponsible actions and emphasized that the Russian Federation bears sole responsibility for the incidents.
The Ministry stated that it is “absolutely unacceptable and intolerable” for Russia to continue violating Romania’s airspace, emphasizing that this airspace is also that of NATO and the European Union. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, these actions contribute to the deterioration of the security situation in the region. The Russian ambassador to Bucharest’s first reaction The Russian ambassador to Bucharest’s first reaction, after being summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the drones, was not long in coming.
Vladimir Lipaev described the protest lodged by the Romanian authorities—after the Romanian Armed Forces shot down three drones that had entered the country’s airspace without authorization—as a “propaganda stunt. ” He said that the expulsion of an employee of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest “will not go without an appropriate response” from Moscow. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) confirms that Romania’s chargé d’affaires a.
i. in Moscow has been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, scheduled for Thursday, August 27, 2026. According to the MFA, Romania assumes that this summons comes in response to the diplomatic measures adopted by Romanian authorities in the context of the wave of drone incidents triggered by the war of aggression waged by the Russian Federation in Ukraine.
The summons of the Romanian diplomat comes amid escalating tensions in the region, caused by the war in Ukraine and the drone incidents that have prompted diplomatic reactions from Romania. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not, as of yet, provided further details regarding the discussions scheduled to take place in Moscow.