The warning messages come first, followed by explosions.

For 48-year-old Robert Marian, who lives in Isaccea, a small town in Romania’s eastern Tulcea County on the Danube River, the increasing frequency of Russian drone strikes just across the border has become a constant source of fear.

The town has a crossing into Ukraine, and some of the attacks take place only a few hundred meters across the river.

“There are alerts warning us that something is coming,” Marian told The Associated Press. “It happened two weeks ago, maybe three. I was asleep at midnight … One was quieter, but another was really loud. I got scared and ran out of the house.”

As Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, drone incidents in Romanian airspace have increased sharply. Explosions across the Danube serve as a reminder of how close the conflict is to NATO territory, amid concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin could test the alliance’s resolve.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sept. 1 that a Ukrainian border crossing with Romania had been “deliberately damaged ... as well as export infrastructure.” Romanian customs announced the same day that operations at the Isaccea-Orlivka crossing had been temporarily suspended.

Another Isaccea resident, Alina Mihail, said the drone alerts and explosions across the border make her feel sick.

“I have so many nights where I don't sleep anymore,” she said. “I live in terror, me and my husband.”

Romania records sharp rise in drone incursions
Figures from Romania’s Ministry of National Defense show that drone incursions into the country’s airspace have tripled so far this year compared with all of 2025 — 27 incidents compared with nine.

The number of drones and pieces of drone debris found on Romanian territory, which is part of NATO, has also more than doubled, from 16 last year to 37 this year.

There have been 73 attacks near the Romanian border on Ukrainian territory this year, prompting the deployment of about 56 military aircraft to “monitor and manage the situation.” In 2025, there were 28 such attacks and 21 aircraft were scrambled. During the first year of the war, there was only one attack near the border.

In May, a drone crashed into an apartment building in the eastern Romanian city of Galati, injuring a mother and her child.

Last week, another drone that entered Romania from neighboring Moldova was tracked across several counties before returning to Moldova and crashing into a sunflower field.

Moscow has denied sending combat drones into Romanian territory.

European officials warn of Russian provocations
The increasing number of drones entering Romanian airspace, many of which Romanian officials have blamed on Russia, has led Romania to shoot down four drones this year. It was the first time the NATO member had done so since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

NATO members across Europe have accused Moscow of carrying out a series of “hybrid war” activities, including drone incursions, sabotage, an attempted attack at a German airport and an incident in which a Danish helicopter was fired on with flares in the Baltic Sea.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Sept. 2 that “Russia has grown increasingly reckless” as the war continues.

“We have seen more drones and missiles crossing into our airspace, along our eastern flank, creating increased risk,” he said. “The dangers Russia poses are clear.”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also warned last week that he had received information from CIA Director Jim Ratcliffe suggesting Europe should prepare for increased Russian provocations, including along the EU’s eastern flank.

Romanian minister calls security situation ‘highly fluid’
Romanian Defense Minister Radu Miruta told The Associated Press that Russia is considered a “primary, significant threat” to Romania and NATO’s eastern flank under both Romania’s National Defense Strategy and NATO assessments.

“We are engaged in discussions regarding the capabilities needed to counter this common threat — facing the same risks as Poland and the Baltic states — and we are coordinating to ensure these capabilities are distributed in a way that allows for interconnection,” he said.

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NATO increased its military presence along Europe’s eastern flank by deploying additional multinational battle groups to Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia.

However, the US reduced its troop deployments in Eastern Europe, including Romania, last year after Washington changed its military posture. US officials denied the move indicated a reduced commitment to NATO.

Miruta said more than 1,000 US troops are currently stationed in Romania, which he said is more than the number there following last year’s troop rotation.

“We have a solid relationship,” he said. “The security dynamics along the eastern flank are highly fluid.”

Little time to respond to drone incursions
Miruta said discussions about NATO’s Article 5, under which an attack on one member can trigger a collective response, “can take various directions.”

However, he said Romania currently has no information indicating that a ground invasion is imminent or likely.

“From this perspective, we can rest easy,” he said.

At the same time, he said Romania faces a unique threat because Russia frequently attacks Ukrainian ports along the Danube, which are only a short distance from the Romanian border.

“Once the border is crossed, the distance involved is merely tens of meters, leaving very little reaction time,” he said. “In contrast, in the Nordic countries, targets are tens of kilometers away, providing a sufficiently comfortable window for various forms of intervention.”

In some areas of Romania, residents can see and hear the fighting across the border, keeping communities on edge.

“We see the drones coming, we see them heading toward those ports,” Miruta said. “Most stop there, bombarding port infrastructure, but we cannot know if any might cross over to the other side … If one does cross over, our communities … would be at risk.”

Romania increases defense spending
Amid growing security concerns, Romania and Poland have acquired the MEROPS system, which uses short-range counter-drones to intercept incoming drones.

Romania’s Defense Ministry also announced last month that it had received its first 2.5 billion euros from the EU’s Security Action for Europe program, out of a total allocation of 16.6 billion euros.

In June, the ministry announced a $2 billion contract with an Israeli company to purchase short- and very-short-range air defense systems “designed to protect against aerial threats, including drones and cruise missiles.”

Romanian President Nicusor Dan said at the Ankara summit that defense spending would rise to as much as 3.7% of GDP this year.

He also said Romania had joined NATO’s Drone Edge project, which aims to invest more than $40 billion in “counter-drone capabilities” over the next five years.

Back in Isaccea, Mihail said she and her husband remain inside their home when text alerts warn of possible airspace violations.

“We have no support, no one to help us,” she said.