Romania denies allowing Ukrainian fighter jets to enter national airspace

Romanian president Nicușor Dan denied claims by Russia that Ukrainian fighter jets were granted permission to fly over Romanian territory, calling the accusations "completely false", Agerpres reported on July 25. The president stated he had full access to all relevant information and confirmed that no such authorization had been given.

The denial comes in response to comments made by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who criticized Romania's handling of an alleged airspace intrusion by four Ukrainian military aircraft.

According to the Romanian Ministry of National Defense, its radar systems detected multiple air targets on the night of July 20-21 near the Maramureș–Suceava border region. The targets were observed flying in Ukrainian airspace near Romania, with four aircraft briefly entering Romanian territory unintentionally at approximately 03:00.

In response, two Romanian F-16 fighter jets were scrambled from the 86th Borcea Air Base at 03:30 for aerial reconnaissance. The Ministry of National Defense reported that a total of 12 Ukrainian aircraft were tracked, all of which were operating near the border. The four that entered Romanian airspace remained for only a few minutes in the areas of Sighetu Marmației and Vicovu de Sus.

"These aircraft did not pose any threat to national security, to human lives, or Romanian infrastructure," the ministry stated.

The Ukrainian authorities later confirmed they had relocated aircraft from western Ukrainian airfields as a precaution, following intensified Russian strikes on airport infrastructure.

The Romanian government reiterated that the incident resulted from emergency dispersal measures by Ukraine and was not coordinated with Romanian airspace control.

(Photo: Nicușor Dan on X)