Romania scrambles fighter jets after detecting 17 Russian drones near Ukraine border

Romania’s Defense Ministry announced that new Russian attacks took place in Ukraine on Wednesday, April 8, and that 17 aerial targets were tracked close to the border.

While the Russian drones did not enter Romanian airspace, an alert was instituted in the northern area of Tulcea County, and two military fighter aircraft were scrambled.

“In the early hours of Wednesday, April 8, the forces of the Russian Federation attacked civilian and infrastructure objectives in Ukraine with drones, in proximity to the border, in the northern area of Tulcea County. Two F-16 aircraft from the air policing combat service took off from the 86th Air Base Borcea, and the anti-aircraft systems were put into firing positions,” the Ministry of Defense transmitted.

“The radar systems monitored a group of 17 aerial targets that evolved in the border area, without entering national airspace,” the cited source also stated.

The National Military Command Center notified the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations to alert the population in the north of Tulcea County, and a RO-ALERT message was sent at 3:44 AM. The air alert ended at 5:10 AM without any major incident.

A Russian drone entered Romanian airspace and crashed in late March, also in Tulcea County. The drone was part of a wave attacking civilian and infrastructure sites in Ukraine, close to Romania’s river border.

Romania has seen over a dozen drone incursions in its airspace since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

(Photo source: Fortele Aeriene Romane on Facebook)