NATO airspace violations by Russian drones confirmed in Romania and Latvia.
The NATO official deemed the occurrences as 'unwise and possibly hazardous'.
Over the weekend, Russian drones invaded the airspace of Latvia and Romania, both NATO members, potentially escalating tensions between Moscow and the military alliance.
On Sunday, Latvia's government announced that a Russian drone had fallen in the east of the country on the previous day, most likely originating from Belarus.
On Sunday, Romania's foreign ministry stated that Russian airborne drones violated its airspace and aimed at Ukraine's civilian infrastructure.
The former Romanian diplomat and current NATO deputy secretary general, Mircea Geoana, stated that NATO condemned the Russian violation of Romanian airspace.
"Despite no evidence suggesting a deliberate attack by Russia on allies, these actions are reckless and could pose a threat," he stated on X, previously Twitter.
If a NATO country is attacked, all member nations are obligated to defend it under Article 5 of NATO.
"Andrew D’Anieri, a resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, stated to Planet Chronicle Digital that he would be more concerned about Latvia as it is a country far from Ukraine and requires passing through Belarus to reach."
"To test NATO's Article 5, you would send a fully strapped drone into Latvian airspace and observe the reaction of the Russians as a low-risk move."
No evidence was found that Moscow or Minsk intentionally sent a drone into Latvia, according to the country's military.
"D'Anieri claimed that there was a possibility that the attack was intentional. He believed that the Latvians were trying to manage their response by not making a big fuss about it. If they said that the Russians had tried to hit them with a drone, it would demand a much greater response. However, he thought that cooler heads were currently prevailing, but there could be more information that came out or the incident could happen again in the future."
On Sunday morning, Romania's defense ministry announced that Russia had attacked Ukraine near its border, prompting two Romanian F-16s to take off from an airbase at 2:30 a.m. local time to monitor the situation.
Officials are searching a second area for fragments from a drone that may have fallen near the Danube River in a Romanian village.
Incidents that would have been "unimaginable" three years ago are now considered "routine," according to Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis in a post on Sunday.
"Our inaction has led to the new reality where nothing should land on Ukraine, Latvia, or NATO territory. However, Lithuania will support a strong allied response."
Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine's new foreign minister, stated that the incidents were a "stark reminder that Russia's aggressive actions extend beyond Ukraine."
In recent weeks, the war has escalated as Russia has carried out massive attacks on Ukraine's vital infrastructure and is now close to capturing Pokrovsk, a crucial transportation center that would give it control over the Donetsk region.
The Donbas region is being targeted by the Russians as they advance on Ukraine's eastern frontlines with the goal of gaining full control.
Ukraine has been intensifying its long-range attacks against Russia and pushing its western allies to ease restrictions on using the weapons they supply to target Russian territory.
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