Two NATO members said Sunday that Russian drones violated their airspace, as one reportedly flew into Romania during nighttime attacks on neighboring Ukraine while another crashed in eastern Latvia the previous day.
A drone entered Romanian territory early Sunday as Moscow struck BԪַcivilian targets and port infrastructureBԪַ across the Danube in Ukraine, RomaniaBԪַs Ministry of National Defense reported. It added that Bucharest had deployed F-16 warplanes to monitor its airspace and issued text alerts to residents of two eastern regions.
It also said investigations were underway of a potential BԪַimpact zoneBԪַ in an uninhabited area along the Romanian-Ukrainian border. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
Later on Sunday, LatviaBԪַs Defense Minister Andris Sprūds said a Russian drone fell the day before near the town of Rezekne, and had likely strayed into Latvia from neighboring Belarus.
Rezekne, home to over 25,000 people, lies some 55 kilometers (34 miles) west of Russia and around 75 kilometers (47 miles) from Belarus, the KremlinBԪַs close and dependent ally.
While the incursion into Latvian airspace appeared to be a rare incident, Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its territory on several occasions since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, as recently as July this year.
Mircea Geoană, NATOBԪַs outgoing deputy secretary-general and RomaniaBԪַs former top diplomat, said Sunday morning that the military alliance condemned RussiaBԪַs violation of Romanian airspace. BԪַWhile we have no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against Allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous,BԪַ he wrote on the social media platform X.
LatviaBԪַs military on Sunday similarly said there were no indications that Moscow or Minsk purposely sent a drone into the country. In a public statement, the military said it had identified the crash site, and that a probe was ongoing.
Sprūds, the Latvian defense minister, sought to downplay the significance of the drone incursion.
BԪַI can confirm that there are no victims here and also no property is infringed in any way,BԪַ Defense Minister Andris Sprūds told the Latvian Radio on Sunday, adding that any risks in the event were immediately eliminated: BԪַOf course, it is a serious incident, as it is once again a reminder of what kind of neighboring countries we live next to.BԪַ
Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the incursions BԪַa reminder (that) the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation go beyond UkraineBԪַs borders.BԪַ
BԪַThe collective response of the Allies should be maximum support for Ukraine now, to put an end to (Russian aggression), protect lives and preserve peace in Europe,BԪַ Sybiha said in a post on X.
Civilians reported killed in Ukraine
In Ukraine, two civilians died and four more suffered wounds in a nighttime Russian airstrike on the northern city of Sumy, the regional military administration reported. Two children were among those wounded, the administration said. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed later on Sunday that its forces struck foreign pro-Kyiv fighters in a village on SumyBԪַs northern outskirts. It was not immediately clear whether this was a reference to the same attack.
Also on Sunday, UkraineBԪַs General Staff said that Russian troops continued to pound Sumy and the surrounding regions with airstrikes, and had lobbed at least 16 devastating BԪַglide bombsBԪַ at the province by mid-afternoon. Russian forces shelled the city again during the day Sunday, wounding a teenager and a civilian man, the regional prosecutorBԪַs office reported.
Three more women died Sunday after Russian forces shelled a village in the eastern Donetsk region, Gov. Vadym Filashkin reported on the Telegram messaging app. Separately, Russian shelling killed a woman on the outskirts of Kharkiv, UkraineBԪַs second city in the northeast, local authorities said.
Meanwhile, the death toll rose to 58 from the massive Russian missile strike that on Tuesday blasted a military academy and nearby hospital in the eastern city of Poltava, regional Gov. Filip Pronin reported. More than 320 others were wounded.
Since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the Russian military has repeatedly used missiles to smash civilian targets, sometimes killing scores of people in a single attack.
Russian forces continued their monthlong grinding push toward the city of Pokrovsk, and also ramped up attacks near the town of Kurakhove farther south, UkraineBԪַs General Staff reported.
RussiaBԪַs Defense Ministry said Sunday its troops had taken Novohrodivka, a small town some 19 kilometers (11 miles) southeast of Pokrovsk. An update published Saturday evening by DeepState, a Ukrainian battlefield analysis site, said Russian forces had BԪַadvancedBԪַ in Novohrodivka and captured Nevelske, a village in the southeast of the Pokrovsk district.
Pokrovsk, which had a prewar population of about 60,000, is one of UkraineBԪַs main defensive strongholds and a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region. Its capture would compromise UkraineBԪַs defense and supply routes, and would bring Russia closer to its stated aim of capturing the entire Donetsk region.
Berlin raises prospect of peace talks with Russia
Also on Sunday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agree that Moscow should be included in a future peace conference aimed at ending its invasion of Ukraine.
BԪַThere will certainly be a further peace conference, and the president (Zelenskyy) and I agree that it must be one with Russia present,BԪַ Scholz told GermanyBԪַs ZDF public television.
A previous peace conference June 15-16 in Switzerland ended with 78 countries expressing support for UkraineBԪַs BԪַterritorial integrityBԪַ but otherwise left the path forward unclear. Russia did not participate.
UkraineBԪַs Zelenskyy did not immediately comment on ScholzBԪַs remarks, but said in a video address Sunday that he had held BԪַimportant negotiationsBԪַ with the German leader and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. He did not give details.
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Associated Press writers Stephen McGrath in Sighisoara, Romania, and Jari Tanner in Helsinki, Finland contributed to this report.
The Associated Press