Violations of non-combatant airspace during the Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present)

During the Russo-Ukrainian war, particularly since the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022, the airspaces of non-combatant neighbouring countries, NATO members and endorsing Ukraine, have been violated on several occasions by Russia and Belarus, on one side, but also by Ukraine.

The violations mostly targeted Romania and Poland, key NATO members having the longest borders with Ukraine, but also Moldova and the Baltic states.

List of violations

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 accidentally 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 problems were fixed, the Ukrainian aircraft was returned without its armament on March 1, being escorted by two MiG-21 LanceRs to the border where other Ukrainian aircraft took over.[1][2]
March 2, 2022	Sweden	Russia	Four Russian Su-24s and Su-27s violated the airspace of Sweden above the Baltic Sea east of Gotland. The Swedish Air Force, using a JAS 39 Gripen, photographed the event.[3][4]
March 10, 2022	Croatia Hungary Romania	Undisclosed	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.[5][6] Both Ukraine and Russia denied ownership of the drone.[7][8] Croatian Minister of Defense Mario Banožić said in an interview that the governments of Croatia and other NATO member states in the drone's flight path know who launched the drone, but the information had been declared a state secret.[9]
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.[10][11]
April 29, 2022	Sweden	Russia	A Russian Antonov An-30 violated the airspace of Sweden south of Blekinge in the Friday evening. The violation lasted for less than one minute.[12]
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.[13]
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 in Zamość, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, 15 km west of near the city of Bydgoszcz (NATO Joint Force Training Centre headquarter) 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.[14][15] 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.[14]
February 10, 2023	Moldova	Russia	A Russian missile violated Moldovan airspace, resulting in the Russian ambassador to Moldova being summoned in protest.[16]
August 1, 2023	Poland	Belarus	Two Belarusian helicopters violated Polish airspace, with the Belarusian chargé d'affaires summoned by Poland in response.[17]
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,[18] however, on September 5, drone fragments were identified near the village of Plauru on the Ukrainian border.[19] Other drone fragments were discovered on September 9.[20]
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.[21] According to the locals, the drone fell about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) away from a military unit located in the area.[22]
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.[23]
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.[24]
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.[25][26]
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.[27][28]
June 14, 2024	Sweden	Russia	A Russian Su-24 violated the airspace of Sweden east of the southern point of Gotland on the Friday evening. Two military of Sweden called the pilot and warned him, getting no reply. Two JAS 39 Gripen intercepted the Russian airplane and escorted it away from Swedish airspace.[29]
July 24–25, 2024	Romania	Russia	Night attacks launched on Ukraine for two consecutive days and multiple drones observed approaching the Romanian border. On both occasions Romanian F-16s were sent to monitor the situation in Tulcea County.[30][31] Three Geran-2 drones entered Romanian territory on July 25 as claimed by the Ukrainian Air Force. The drones subsequently crashed and the wrecks were identified in the aftermath.[32]
September 7, 2024	Latvia	Russia	The drone crashed in the Rēzekne Municipality after flying through Belarus.[33] 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[34]
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[35]
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.[36]
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.[37]
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.[36]
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.[36]
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.[38]
April 25, 2025	Poland	Russia	A Russian military helicopter from the Baltic Fleet entered Polish airspace over its territorial waters in the evening. It was tracked by military radar and the Polish Air Navigation Agency until it left the airspace.[39]
July 21, 2025	Romania	Ukraine	Four Ukrainian aircraft unintentionally entered Romanian airspace for a few minutes on the night of July 21 during a Russian attack in northern Ukraine. At around 3:00 AM, Romanian radar detected 12 Ukrainian aerial contacts in Ukrainian airspace on Romania's northern border. Two Romanian F-16s were scrambled from the 86th Air Base, followed by two Italian Typhoons from the 57th Air Base. The Ukrainian aircraft briefly entered Romanian airspace around the Sighetu Marmației and Vicovu de Sus areas without posing any threat.[40]
August 20, 2025	Poland	Russia	A Russian drone, likely a Geran-2, crashed and exploded around midnight in Osiny, Łuków County, a village located around 100 kilometres (62 mi) away from the Polish border, 80 kilometres (50 mi) from Warsaw and 40 kilometres (25 mi) away from the Dęblin Air Base. The remains were identified in the morning on August 20 in a 8–10 metres (26–33 ft)-diameter burnt area. The drone was not detected by radar. Buildings from the village were damaged in the explosion but there were no injuries.[41][42]
August 25, 2025	Estonia Latvia	Ukraine	During a Ukrainian drone attack on Saint Petersburg and Ust-Luga, a drone violated Latvian airspace and travelled onward into Estonia, where it crashed and exploded in a field in Tartu County. Early findings from an Estonian investigation identified it as a Ukrainian drone that had veered off course due to Russian radio jamming.[43]
September 4, 2025	Poland	Russia	Two Russian drones entered Polish airspace during an attack on western Ukraine. Polish and allied aircraft were scrambled in response to the attack and the drones were closely monitored until they left the Polish territory.[44]
September 8, 2025	Poland	Unknown	An unarmed drone with Cyrillic markings crashed in Polatycze near the Belarus–Poland border.[45]
September 9, 2025	Poland	Russia	2025 Russian drone incursion into Poland: On the night of September 9/10, multiple Russian drones entered Polish airspace. Allied aircraft including Polish, Dutch, Italian and American began operating in the airspace, and air defense and radar systems were put on high alert.[46][47] At least 21 drones were recorded in Polish airspace.[48] The Warsaw International, Warsaw Modlin, Rzeszów and Lublin airports were temporarily closed that night due to "unplanned military activity".[49][50] Up to four Russian drones were shot down.[51] One drone crashed in Oleśno, near Elbląg, more than 200 km away from Poland's eastern border. Poland invoked Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty as a response to this incident.[52]
September 13, 2025	Romania	Russia	A Russian drone was detected in Romanian airspace. Two F-16s were scrambled to monitor the border with Ukraine at 18:05 and subsequently intercepted the drone.[53] The two aircraft tracked it for about 50 minutes from Chilia Veche to Pardina where it crossed into Ukraine. Permission was given to shoot down the drone but the pilots decided against opening fire to avoid potential collateral damage.[54] The Russian ambassador was summoned by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the aftermath.[55]
September 19, 2025	Estonia	Russia	Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated Estonian airspace around Vaindloo in the Gulf of Finland for a total of 12 minutes; the jets reportedly had no flight plans and their transponders turned off. The Estonian Defence Forces published a chart of the flight showing the jets flying in a straight line parallel to the Estonia border from east to west.[56] The Russian Chargé d'Affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia in protest and handed a diplomatic note.[57] Estonia invoked Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty as a response to this incident.[58]
September 19, 2025	Poland	Russia	Two Russian fighter jets violated safety zone of the Orlen Petrobaltic drilling platform.[59]
September 22, 2025	Denmark	Unknown	Unidentified drones, suspected to be Russian, violated Denmark's airspace, specifically near Copenhagen Airport.[60]
October 6, 2025	Lithuania	Belarus	Weather balloons carrying black-market cigarettes led to the shutdown of Vilnius airport. At least 14 balloons were launched from Belarus, resulting in the cancellation of 30 flights.[61] On 27 October, After the situation repeated itself numerous times throughout the month, Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said that the incidents were "a tool of hybrid aggression against Europe” and that the Lithuanian army was taking "all necessary measures" to shoot down the balloons.[62] Lithuanian border guard closed the border with Belarus on 26 October for 24 hours, but Ruginiene prolongued the restrictions for three days. She said the government was discussing to extend the measure indefinitely. On 29 October, it was decided that the border would remain closed until 30 November 2025.[63][64]
October 17, 2025	Estonia	Unknown	Two unidentified drones overflew Camp Reedo, a US Army base in Southern Estonia; one of them was shot down with an anti-drone gun. Estonian security forces were still searching for the unmanned aircraft as of 29 October.[65]
October 23, 2025	Lithuania	Russia	A Su 30 fighter and an Il-78 refueling tanker that departed from Kaliningrad entered briefly the Lithuanian airspace. Spanish Eurofighter jets took off for an air patrol of the area.[66]
November 11, 2025	Romania	Russia	A Russian drone entered and crashed on Romanian territory just after midnight, on November 11, during an attack on Ukraine in the Izmail area. Weather conditions did not allow for NATO and Romanian fighter jets to be deployed. The drone fragments were identified in an inhabited area after the incident, as confirmed by the Romanian Foreign Minister.[67]
November 17, 2025	Romania	Russia	A Russian drone hit the LNG Turkish tanker Olinda at anchor in the port of Izmail, on the Danube, setting the ship on fire. Although no violation of the Romanian airspace was reported, two Romanian villages on the southern bank of the river had to be evacuated as a security measure, given the risk of explosion.[68]
November 19, 2025	Romania Moldova	Russia	A Russian drone entered Romanian airspace around 00:20 in the night around Vylkove, penetrated 8 kms. in Romanian territory around the villages of Periplava and Chilia Veche, then entered Ukrainian airspace again. Minutes later, it entered Moldovan airspace over the autonomous region of Gagauzia, flew over the village of Colibași and then entered Romanian airspace again minutes before 01:00, close to the border village of Oancea. Four jets, two Romanian and two German, were scrambled to intercept it, but signals from the drone were lost, and it is unknown what happened to it. Romanian authorities launched a search for possible impact zones.[69]
November 22, 2025	Netherlands	Unknown	Several drones overflew Volkel Air Base, home of Royal Dutch Air Force and USAF squadrons. The Dutch military on the ground opened fire on the incursors, but no wreckage was found.[70] The airport of Eindhoven was shut down for several hours.[71]
November 24, 2025	Estonia	Russia	Two Italian Eurofighter Typhoons intercepted a Russian "special" trainer (dubbed by NATO as "Black Pearl") escorted by a pair of Su-30SM2 and Tu-134UBL fighters flying over Ämari as part of Operation East Flank.[72][73]
November 25, 2025	Moldova	Russia	Around 09:00 in the morning, a Russian drone crashed on the roof of a house in the village of Cuhureștii de Jos, located 20 kms. from the Ukrainian border. No people were injured as the drone did not explode, and people in the proximity of the impact zone were evacuated.[74] Six drones were recorded as violating Moldovan airspace in that morning.
November 25, 2025	Romania	Russia	Hours before the incident in neighbouring Moldova, two drones were detected in Romania. The first one entered Romanian airspace at around 06:30 AM around Chilia Veche, Tulcea County, it was tracked by German Eurofighters but the drone re-entered Ukrainian airspace. Minutes later, another drone that may had also penetrated Moldovan airspace was detected in Galați County, heading west. Two Romanian F-16s were scrambled for monitoring, but had no visual contact. At 08:50 AM, the drone was caught on camera by a bypasser over the city of Tecuci, after the Government launched a RO-Alert alarm for Vrancea County. This incursion was the deepest into Romanian territory since the escalation of the war in February 2022.[75] After four hours into Romanian territory, the drone crashed in Vaslui County, in the courtyard of a local from the village of Puiești.[76]
November 29, 2025	Lithuania	Belarus	Vilnius airport was closed once again, this time for 11 hours, due to meteorological balloons launched from Belarus. Lithuania's deputy Foreign Minister, Taurimas Valys, said that the incident was part of "a cynical hybrid attack against our economy, aviation security, and the entire nation".[77] The following day, Belarussian officials claimed that a drone launched from Lithuania and carrying a camera and "extremist printed materials" landed near Grodno.[78] Russian sources reported that the aerial vehicle was "a reconnaissance drone manufactured in Germany".[79] The director of the Lithuanian drone maker company Granta Autonomy later confirmed the drone was a Hornet XR, a model procuced by Granta, but concluded that the drone was somehow modified and the incident was probably a provocation staged by Belarus.[80]
December 3, 2025	Lithuania	Belarus	Vilnius airport operations were temporarily shut down at evening for the tenth time in two months after another suspected incursion of weather balloons from Belarus.[81]
December 4, 2025	France	Unknown	The French naval base at l'Île Longue, Finistere, Brittany, home of the four Le Triomphant-class nuclear submarines, was overflown by five unidentified drones. There are reports of naval troops firing at the intruders. Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin confirmed that the drones were "intercepted" by personnel at the base, though she didn´t mention whether it means they were shot down, jammed or neutralized in another way.[82][83][84][85]

See also

• 2024 Baltic Sea submarine cable disruptions
• Incendiary incidents in Europe 2024
• Russian hybrid warfare
• Russian sabotage operations in Europe
• Swedish submarine incidents