NEWS FOCUS: Russian military drones in the skies of NATO countries. Online impact

According to the data analyzed with the help of the information flow provided by NewsVibe, a real-time media monitoring platform, only in the last week approximately 5,000 mentions about drones were recorded in the most relevant online sources in Romania, with an estimated impact of about 65 million views. This intensification of media coverage was driven by several events of major geopolitical significance, at the center of which was Romania.

In the last week, Eastern Europe has been the scene of new challenges with Russian drones, which targeted both Poland and Romania. In Poland, over 20 drones violated the airspace, being partially shot down by air defense, an incident that led authorities to temporarily suspend air traffic at several airports and invoke Article 4 of the NATO Treaty. The situation generated a wave of concern within the Alliance and led to the launch of an operation to strengthen the eastern flank.

Just a few days later, Romania faced a similar episode when a Russian drone entered the airspace in the Tulcea area, being intercepted and tracked by F-16 aircraft. Although there were no casualties or damages, the incident amplified the feeling of insecurity, suggesting that these incursions may be part of a pattern meant to test the reactions of NATO border states.

Since the recent event in Poland, we see that mentions about drones have continued to have a high impact consistently, even though the actual number of these mentions has fluctuated.

NewsVibe Chart. Evolution of the number of mentions about drones, respectively their total impact, in the last week

Top mentioned keywords

The most frequently associated terms with topics related to drones, in articles and social media posts, are Russia, Poland, NATO, Ukraine, Ionuț Moșteanu (the Romanian Minister of Defense), Warsaw, Romania, and Moscow. As can be seen from the chart below, much of the media coverage of drone topics in recent days has been influenced by events in Romania and Poland, with a somewhat higher level in the case of Poland.

Secondarily, there were also themes related to drones without a direct connection to the incidents in Romania and Poland: reports regarding developments on the front, presentation of usage tactics, or conversely, methods of countering drone warfare by the Ukrainian and Russian Federation armies.

NewsVibe Chart. Top entities mentioned in the context of mentions about drones, in the last week

Map of semantic associations

Through semantic network analysis, by which NewsVibe maps the structure and connections within an online conversation, we can observe an overview of the themes discussed in the digital environment regarding drones during the analyzed period. Thus, we find that discussions in these days have been organized around two major cores and one peripheral:

• The first thematic core includes Russia, Poland, Ukraine, and NATO and is driven by the events that took place in Poland. Within this group, there are multiple connections with Polish leaders, with American and Russian presidents, but also with the war in Ukraine. This core is dominant, reflecting a higher intensity of media coverage of events in Poland, compared to those in Romania.
• The second thematic core is built around the term Romania, around which gravitate the names of some Romanian political leaders (Nicușor Dan, Ionuț Moșteanu) or institutions (MApN, MAE), but also terms like Russian Federation or Tulcea.
• In proximity to this core, another peripheral one is outlined, structured around the terms EU and Romania, which reflect the institutional reactions at the European level regarding the violation of Romanian airspace by Russian drones.

NewsVibe Chart. The semantic network of the online conversation about drones, in the last week

*****Synthesis made with the help of a data flow provided by the media monitoring platform NewsVibe Romania. The analysis, data, and images presented have been enhanced with the help of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence tools.