Violations of non-combatant airspaces during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

During the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the airspaces of non-combatant neighbouring countries, particularly Poland, Moldova, and Romania, have been violated on several occasions.

List of incidents

Date	Non-combatant country	Committed by	Nature of violation
February 24, 2022	Romania	Ukraine	On the starting day of the invasion, a Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27 fighter suffered some technical problems which resulted in the loss of communication with its home base. The fighter accidently entered Romanian airspace and was intercepted by two Romanian F-16 fighters which escorted it to the 95th Air Base in Bacău. After its technical problem was fixed, the Ukrainian aircraft was returned without its armament on 1 March, being escorted by two MiG-21 LanceRs to the border where other Ukrainian aircraft took over. [1] [2]
March 10, 2022	Croatia Hungary Romania	Unknown	2022 Zagreb Tu-141 crash: An unmanned drone, a Tupolev Tu-141, crashed in Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia, after travelling through Croatian, Hungarian and Romanian airspace. [3] [4] Both Ukraine and Russia denied ownership of the drone. [5] [6]
March 14, 2022	Romania	Russia	A Russian Orlan-10 drone crashed in the Bistrița-Năsăud County. Initially thought to be a privately-owned commercial drone, it was soon identified to be an Orlan-10 of the Russian army. [7] [8]
November 15, 2022	Poland	Ukraine	2022 missile explosion in Poland: A Ukrainian air-defence missile became out of control and crashed into a grain facility in the village of Przewodów, killing two people. [9]
December 16, 2022	Poland	Russia	During a Russian missile attack on Ukraine, Polish radar detected an unidentified object in their airspace, but neither the United States F-15 or Polish MiG-29 fighter jets operating nearby were able to visually identify it before it disappeared from radar. On April 27, 2023, remains of a Kh-55 cruise missile were discovered by a horseback rider in a forest near the city of Bydgoszcz in northern Poland; according to the Polish Air Force Institute of Technology, the missile was likely fired by a Russian Su-34 during the December 16, 2022 attack on Ukraine but unintentionally veered off course, travelling through Belarusian airspace into Poland before crashing. [10] [11] The discovery provoked a political controversy in Poland regarding why the airspace violation had not been made public at the time, and why Polish air defence and radar systems had lost track of the missile. [10]
February 10, 2023	Moldova	Russia	A Russian missile violated Moldovan airspace, resulting in the Russian ambassador to Moldova being summoned in protest. [12]
August 1, 2023	Poland	Belarus	Two Belarusian helicopters violated Polish airspace, with the Belarusian chargé d'affaires summoned by Poland in response. [13]
September 4–9, 2023	Romania	Russia	A Russian drone fell on Romanian territory during the attacks on the night of September 3 to 4. The claims were initially denied, [14] however, on September 5, drone fragments were identified near the village of Plauru on the Ukrainian border. [15] Other drone fragments were discovered on September 9. [16]
September 13, 2023	Romania	Russia	The crew of a Romanian Air Force helicopter identified fragments from a drone between the villages of Nufăru and Victoria, after a Russian attack on the Ukrainian port of Izmail. [17] According to the locals, the drone fell about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) away from a military unit located in the area. [18]
September 30, 2023	Romania	Russia	A Russian drone was detected in Romanian airspace by the Romanian defence ministry during an overnight drone attack against Ukraine. [19]
December 14, 2023	Romania	Russia	A Russian drone violated Romanian airspace and crashed on Romanian territory, resulting in German and Romanian fighter jets being scrambled. [20]
December 29, 2023	Poland	Russia	A Russian missile violated Polish airspace for less than three minutes, during which time the missile was tracked by Polish and allied radar systems. The Russian chargé d'affaires was summoned by Poland in response. [21] [22]
March 24, 2024	Poland	Russia	A Russian cruise missile, aimed at Ukraine, violated Polish airspace for 39 seconds, near the village of Oserdów. In response, Polish and allied aircraft were activated. [23] [24]
September 7, 2024	Latvia	Russia	The drone crashed in the Rēzekne Municipality after flying through Belarus. [25] A week before the incident, on August 27, 2024, the Minister of Defense of Latvia announced a "concrete reaction" in response if incidents involving a Russian drone continue to be repeated on NATO territory [26]
September 8, 2024	Romania	Russia	The drone violated the airspace of Romania, its wreckage is being searched for in a deserted area on the outskirts of the city of Periprava [27]
September 27, 2024	Romania	Russia	A drone briefly entered Romanian airspace during a Russian attack on Ukraine. Four aircraft were brought to monitor the situation. [28]
October 17, 2024	Romania	Unknown	A "small aerial target" was detected over the Black Sea, about 150 km east of Mihail Kogălniceanu. The object proceeded to fly 14 km in the Romanian airspace around Eforie Nord, later towards Topraisar. Spanish and Romanian jets were sent out to monitor the situation but made no contact with the target. The radar contact was lost near Amzacea. No impact zones were identified. [29]
October 19, 2024	Romania	Unknown	Another "small aerial target" was detected 45 km east of Sfântu Gheorghe, Tulcea. Spanish and Romanian fighters were again sent to visually identify the object but did not detect anything. Radar contact was lost south of Cogealac and no impact zones were identified in the aftermath. [28]
January 17, 2025	Romania	Russia	The Romanian Ministry of National Defence announced that several Russian drones entered Romanian airspace. A possible drone impact zone was identified near Plauru. [28]
February 11, 2025	Poland	Russia	A Russian Su-24 violated Polish airspace near Gdańsk Bay for one minute and 12 seconds, reaching 6.5 kilometres (4 miles) into Polish territory. Polish military officials reported that Russia had admitted the airspace violation and blamed it on a malfunction in the Su-24's navigation system. [30]

References

1. David Cenciotti (1 March 2022). "The Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 That Landed In Romania Flown Back To Ukraine". The Aviationist.
2. "Aeronava Suhoi 27 aparținând Forțelor Aeriene Ucrainene a părăsit spaţiul aerian al României". Ministerul Apărării Naționale (in Romanian). 1 March 2022.
3. "Military drone from Ukraine war crashes into Croatian capital Zagreb". The Guardian. Associated Press. 2022-03-11. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-03-24.
4. "'Jarunski' dron pripadao je ukrajinskim vojnim snagama". Nacional. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
5. "Ukraine's Reznikov: We certainly did not launch any drone towards Croatia". N1. 17 March 2022. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
6. vijesti, R. T. L. (11 March 2022). "I Rusi peru ruke od letjelice koja je pala u Zagrebu. Rusko veleposlanstvo: 'Taj dron proizveden je na teritoriju Ukrajine'" [And the Russians are washing their hands of the plane that crashed in Zagreb. Russian Embassy: 'That drone was produced on the territory of Ukraine']. Vijesti.hr (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
7. Sabău, Cristiana (14 March 2022). "Cazul "drona căzută la Tărpiu" va fi cercetat de Parchetul de pe lângă Curtea de Apel Cluj". TimpOnline (in Romanian).
8. Stăniloiu, Cosmin (15 March 2022). "Aviația ucraineană spune că drona căzută lângă Bistrița e a armatei ruse. O alta, care a survolat Polonia, e fost doborâtă". Libertatea (in Romanian).
9. "Polish experts confirm missile that hit grain facility was Ukrainian - media". Reuters. September 26, 2023.
10. Hinshaw, Drew; Grove, Thomas; Lubold, Gordon; Weinberger, Sharon (May 30, 2023). "Russian Cruise Missile That Struck Poland Exposes NATO's Air Defenses". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
11. Balawajder, Marek; Zasada, Krzysztof (May 10, 2023). "NEWS RMF FM: Biegli wstępnie potwierdzili, że pod Bydgoszczą spadła rosyjska rakieta Ch-55" [NEWS RMF FM: Experts have preliminarily confirmed that a Russian Kh-55 missile fell near Bydgoszcz] (in Polish). RMF24. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
12. "Moldova briefly shuts airspace after report of balloon-like object". Reuters. February 15, 2023.
13. "Poland says two Belarusian helicopters violated its airspace, adding to tensions". AP News. 2023-08-01. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
14. "Bucharest Denies Ukrainian Claim That Russian Drone Detonated On Romanian Territory". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. September 4, 2023.
15. "Nato pledges 'strong solidarity' with Romania over likely Russian drone debris". The Guardian. September 6, 2023.
16. "Romania finds new suspected Russian drone fragments on its territory". Reuters. September 9, 2023.
17. "Romania Finds Possible Drone Fragments After Russian Attack Hits Ukrainian Ports". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. September 13, 2023.
18. Bejan, Gabriel; Cozmei, Victor (September 13, 2023). "Mărturiile localnicilor din Nufăru, Tulcea, despre drona care a explodat la ei în comună: "A căzut aproape de o unitate militară"". HotNews (in Romanian).
19. "Romania: Possible airspace breach during Ukraine drone attack". Reuters. September 30, 2023.
20. Newdick, Thomas (2023-12-14). "NATO Fighters Scrambled As Russian Drone Violates Romanian Airspace". The War Zone. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
21. "Poland says Russian rocket entered its airspace, summons diplomat". Reuters. December 30, 2023.
22. "Poland says Russian missile briefly entered its airspace". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
23. Chen, Heather; Pennington, Josh; Jeong, Sophie; Kostenko, Maria (2024-03-24). "Poland activates aircraft after Russian cruise missile aimed at Ukraine enters its airspace". CNN. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
24. "Russia violates Poland's airspace during cruise missile attack on western Ukraine". The Independent. 2024-03-24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
25. "Latvia says Russian drone that violated airspace came through Belarus". Politico Europe. 2024-09-08. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
26. "Sprūds: Iespējama krievu drona ielidošana Polijā ir NATO dienas kārtībā". Latvijas Avīze (in Latvian). 2024-08-27. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
27. "While Ukraine Repelled Another Blow, Romania Raised 2 F-16s Just to Monitor russian Drone That Invaded Country's Airspace". Defense Express. 2024-09-08. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
28. "Încă o dronă în spațiul aerian al României - ținta a zburat 19 km în județul Constanța". europalibera.org (in Romanian). 19 October 2024.
29. "RO-Alert în Constanța cu risc de cădere a unor obiecte. Avioane F-18 ale Forțelor Spaniole și F-16 ale Armatei Române, ridicate în aer". europalibera.org (in Romanian). 17 October 2024.
30. "Russian military jet violates Polish airspace after navigation failure, Poland says". Reuters. 2025-02-11. Retrieved 2025-02-12.