Russian drone tests Romania as Trump spins

President Donald Trump shows off photo of him and Russia's Vladimir Putin

President Donald Trump shows off a photo of him and Russia's Vladimir Putin

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

What happened

The European Union yesterday accused Russia of “reckless escalation” after Romania said Moscow had flown a drone over its territory for nearly an hour Saturday night. Poland last week shot down at least three of 19 Russian drones sent deep into its airspace, in NATO’s first military engagement with Russia during the Ukraine war. But Romania said its F-16s decided it was safer to only monitor the drone there.

Who said what

Russia claimed last week’s incursion over Poland was an accident and President Donald Trump also suggested it “could have been a mistake,” but Poland, other NATO countries and security analysts said Moscow was deliberately testing NATO’s resolve and defenses.

Trump said Saturday he was “ready to do major sanctions on Russia when all NATO nations” have stopped “buying oil from Russia.” Most NATO nations did so after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, but not Turkey, Hungary and Slovakia, all of which are “led by Trump allies,” The Washington Post said. “Instead of looking for a solution,” former Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told the Post, Trump seems to be “looking for a way out.”

What next?

Trump, who is “resisting congressional plans to impose newer and tougher penalties on Russia’s energy sector,” also pushed NATO allies to slap steep tariffs on China for buying Russian oil, The Wall Street Journal said. Russia “remains the world’s second-largest oil exporter,” The Associated Press said, but Moscow has “paused gasoline exports” amid shortages from rising demand and “sustained Ukrainian drone strikes” on its oil refineries, including a hit early Sunday on the large Kirishi refinery outside St. Petersburg.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.