Flights at Germany's Munich Airport were once again temporarily suspended on Saturday after a drone sighting was reported, eliciting a response from a large number of police and security services personnel.
Euronews reviews in the wake of the incident, which ended with the key European hub resuming regular operations after no UAV was found or identified, "Munich Airport closed twice within 24 hours in October following suspected drone sightings."
This is the latest in a months-long spate of similar air traffic disruptions due to mysterious reported drone incursions, with European officials frequently voicing suspicions of a Russian sabotage and disruption campaign of EU airspace.
But the biggest incident this week happened in Romania, where local officials described that during the Russian military's assault on Ukraine Thursday night, a Russian drone slammed into the residential building in the southeastern city of Galati - resulting in an explosion and a fire that injured two people.
The Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry condemned the "grave and irresponsible escalation from Russia" while further declaring it has issued formal request for more anti-drone defense measures from NATO.
"Romania has informed allies and NATO's secretary-general about the circumstances and requested measures to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to Romania," the ministry said.
While Romania and other countries which border Ukraine have witnessed 'errant' drones and missiles come across the border before, this was the first time Romania in particular has suffered casualties as a result of a projectile hitting a densely populated city or area.
President Putin himself has weighed in, demanding that forensic proof that this was indeed a Russian drone - and not a Ukrainian one - be handed over to the Kremlin for an investigation.
He also used the opportunity in Friday remarks to highlight that Russia is always blamed for any and all drone incursions into European airspace due to Russiaphobia. Putin said according to TASS:
Ukrainian drones have previously entered the airspace of various countries, and initial reports consistently claimed it was "a Russian attack," President Vladimir Putin said in response to a TASS question about the drone incident in Romania.
"We know that Ukrainian drones have flown into Finland, Poland, and several Baltic states. The initial reaction was exactly the same as it is now in Romania. 'Oh no, the Russians are coming, it’s a Russian attack!'" Putin recalled.
While the Russian leader was being deeply ironic with his 'the Russians are coming' comment, it is true that just earlier this month NATO jets were scrambled over Estonia and shot down an errant Ukrainian-origin drone which had drifted into Baltic/EU airspace.
"We apologize to Estonia and all our Baltic friends for such unintended incidents," a Ukrainian government statement had acknowledged. "We have been and remain in close cooperation through our specialized institutions to get to the heart of the matter in each case and seek ways to prevent them, including through the direct engagement of our expert groups."
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry then deflected, calling attention to Russian actions: "Moscow does this on purpose, together with intensified propaganda," it said.
As for the spate of mystery UAV sightings over Northern and Western Europe, it's anyone's guess as to the origins. Some pundits have suggested these are merely irresponsible hobbyists, or else pranksters. However, the reality of projectiles entering neighboring countries as a result of the Ukraine war is much more serious, and a significant threat to these populations.