Russian drone enters Romanian airspace during attack on Ukrainian city

The Romanian Ministry of Defense announced that on Friday, September 27, a Russian drone briefly entered Romanian airspace during an attack on the Ukrainian city of Izmail, near the border.

Spanish F-18 aircraft, in addition to Romanian F-16s, were scrambled in response to the violation of Romanian airspace. Residents in northern Tulcea County were also warned through the Ro-Alert system.

“Two Romanian Air Force F-16 aircraft took off from Borcea Air Base starting at 1:52 AM, and later, starting at 3:22 AM, two more F-18 aircraft of the Spanish Air Force from the extended air policing service, from the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base. All four fighter jets landed at their air bases around 4:00 AM,” the Defense Ministry said in a press release.

“During this time frame, Romania's radar surveillance system indicated the possibility that one of the drones involved in the attack on Ukrainian targets may have briefly intersected, around 3:00 AM, for a very short period, less than three minutes, Romanian national airspace, in the border area with Ukraine,” the same source added.

Official sources also said that no impact zone has been reported on national territory of Romania. Nevertheless, forces of the Ministry of National Defense have been conducting investigations in the area with aerial means and ground teams.

According Pravda.ua, residential blocks, other buildings, and several vehicles were damaged in the attack. The Ukrainian Army's General Staff also communicated that a Russian drone entered Romanian territory. In total, 32 drones were launched at Ukraine, 24 of which were intercepted. The attack on Izmail caused three deaths and injured 14 others.

This is not the first time that Russian drones enter Romanian airspace. Most recently, an Iranian-designed Shahed drone launched by Russia crossed Romanian airspace during the night of September 7 to 8 and was spotted and followed by NATO fighter jets. Drone fragments were discovered the next day.

(Photo source: Trentinness | Dreamstime.com)