A Romanian “F-16” shot down an unmanned aircraft that had entered Romanian airspace on Friday morning. It doesn't sound like big news until you grasp one thing: this is the first time a Romanian aircraft has downed a drone over its own territory. The line it endured for years was finally crossed.

President Nicușor Dan announced the incident directly: at around 11 a.m., a Romanian pilot in an “F-16” shot down a drone that had entered the airspace, over an uninhabited area near Padina in Buzau county, in eastern Romania. That is precisely why the pilot could fire without risk - there was no one below.

The night before, the radars of Romania's Ministry of Defence registered a group of unmanned aircraft heading towards the Ukrainian border. The residents of Tulcea county were sent an “RO-Alert” at around 00:56, after aerial targets were spotted about 33 kilometres north of the river border between Romania and Ukraine - while Russian drones were striking Ukrainian targets. An “IAR-330 Puma Sokat” helicopter was scrambled to track the situation, and the air-raid alert ended at 01:33.

Romania shares about 650 kilometres of land border with Ukraine. More than once before, Russian drones have strayed into its airspace - but until now the story always ended the same way: alert, tracking, and finally “no violation”. This time, Romania opened fire for the first time.

And here is the question that concerns us directly: what does a country do when a war that isn't its own keeps knocking on its door? Romania's NATO membership means every such shoot-down is a test - how far defence may go before someone calls it escalation. The Balkans know this scene by heart: the neighbour is on fire, and you watch through the window wondering when the smoke will reach you too.

For now, Romanian authorities say there are no losses and no violation of their territory. But “the first time” is a phrase that rarely stays alone. Once the trigger is pulled, the next time is no longer a precedent - it's a rule.