Claims That Russian Missile Entered Romanian Airspace

There are reports hitting wires and social media claiming that a Russian cruise missile entered the airspace of Moldova as well as Romania earlier this morning. Romania is a NATO member state, making any entry of Russian missiles into its airspace a situation fraught with the potential for escalation.

• General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, tweeted: "Today, Feb 10, at 10:18 a.m., two Russian Kalibr cruise missiles crossed the state border of Ukraine with Moldova. At 10:33 a.m., these missiles crossed the airspace of Romania. After that, the missiles again entered the airspace of Ukraine at the crossing point of the borders of the three states."
• For its part, the Romanian military has stated that it cannot confirm that a Russian missile entered its airspace. The border between the three nations is on the River Danube near the Moldovan town of Giurgiuleşti and the Ukrainian town of Reni.
• NATO members will be keenly observant of whether the missile did in fact enter Romania's airspace. A full confirmation risks retaliation from NATO or at least an increased presence in Romania. If it is proven the incident did not occur it could act as another black mark against the Ukrainian military following the November 2022 incident in which a missile killed two civilians in Poland. Initial claims that it was a Russian strike proved to be incorrect, with the missile being of Ukrainian origin.

Source: The Economist