Russian drone violates Romanian airspace – IDF ramps up attacks on Gaza

Just days after seven Russian drones were downed over Polish airspace, Romania scrambled two fighter jets claiming that a Russian drone had violated its airspace. Apparently the drone was not flying over populated areas and did not present a danger to the population. If true, the report is nothing out of the ordinary, as parts of Russian drones have fallen within the NATO member state's territory several times since the beginning of the Ukraine war.

Following the recent downing of seven Russian drones in Polish airspace, the EU and NATO are ramping up their preparedness. The tensions between the east and the west rose even further after Russia and Belarus started a joint military exercise (“West-25”) and NATO announced the launching of the new “Eastern Sentry” mission.

Commenting on the latest incursion into NATO airspace US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States is still gathering all the facts before formulating a response: "Irrespective, it shouldn't have happened. I don't think anyone's happy about it. You saw NATO respond to it appropriately. We don't want to see it happen again. We think it is unacceptable and an unfortunate and dangerous development in this regard. I think it will take a few more days for everybody to fully ... the drones were intentionally launched, there's no doubt that the drones were intentionally launched, the question is whether the drones were targeted to go into Poland specifically. If that's the case, that the evidence leads us there, then obviously that would be a highly escalatory move. There are a number of other possibilities as well, but I think we'd like to have all the facts and consult with our allies before we make specific determinations."

The US Secretary of State arrived in Israel this weekend, where the IDF has intensified its attacks on Gaza, including targeted a building used to house displaced families. The focus of his visit is the situation in Gaza and the recent Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, which has been a US ally: "What's happened has happened. Obviously we're not happy about it, the President was not happy about it, now we need to move forward and figure out what comes next."

Meanwhile, more than twelve thousand people gathered in Berlin last night to protest against the sale of German arms to Israel and calling for the recognition of Palestine as a state. There were also calls for the US to increase pressure on Israel to stop the genocide. Among the protesters was Bettina: "I don't want people to die, regardless of what nation or population they belong to. We have to work for peace. We have to use diplomacy, which is much more important than continuing this war."

Source: HRT