The drone, which had come from neighboring Moldova, was intercepted by an F-18 at 5:01 am, the same source said in a press release.
Drone that invaded Romanian airspace is shot down by NATO fighter
The drone, which had come from neighboring Moldova, was intercepted by an F-18 at 5:01 am, the same source said in a press release. The ministry reported possible debris falling in an uninhabited area of the Galati region, close to the...
Romania's east coast, bordered by the Black Sea, is close to areas that are regularly targeted by Russian air strikes. Since 2023, Romanian authorities have repeatedly announced the discovery of drone fragments following attacks on Ukrainian ports on the Danube River.
- At the end of July, Romania shot down a drone for the first time since the start of the Russian invasion, about 100 kilometers from the capital, Bucharest.
- Other countries on NATO's eastern border have also suffered repeated incursions into their airspace, notably Poland and the Baltic countries.
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The ministry reported possible debris falling in an uninhabited area of the Galati region, close to the border with Ukraine.
Romania, a country of 19 million inhabitants, has become one of the NATO members most exposed to the consequences of the war in Ukraine.
Romania's east coast, bordered by the Black Sea, is close to areas that are regularly targeted by Russian air strikes.
Since 2023, Romanian authorities have repeatedly announced the discovery of drone fragments following attacks on Ukrainian ports on the Danube River.
At the end of July, Romania shot down a drone for the first time since the start of the Russian invasion, about 100 kilometers from the capital, Bucharest.
Other countries on NATO's eastern border have also suffered repeated incursions into their airspace, notably Poland and the Baltic countries.
On Friday, NATO announced that Italian fighter jets, part of the alliance's Baltic Air Policing Mission, shot down a drone that had entered Latvian airspace.
The aircraft was shot down in the Balvi region, where soldiers and police were sent to search for the drone's wreckage.
The warning led hundreds of pilgrims, gathered for the largest Catholic religious festival in northern Europe, to seek shelter.
The threat alert extended to the regions of Augsdaugava, Preili, Rezekne, Balvi and Aluksne, and temporary restrictions were ordered.
Also on Friday, the Finnish Army announced it had imposed a temporary restriction on air and sea space in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland, without detailing the cause.
Last week, at the German airport in Leipzig, an important logistics center for NATO and for sending military and civilian materials to Ukraine, a drone was found carrying an "unidentified explosive device", which caused a temporary interruption of traffic.
In June, French NATO Rafale fighter jets, stationed in the Baltic countries, had already shot down a drone in Latvia.
Latvia is approximately halfway between Ukraine and Russia's Leningrad region.
Russia is intensifying attacks against Kiev and other regions of Ukraine and has disrupted Ukrainian exports through the Black Sea by attacking its ports and ships, with particular intensity at a time when Moscow is said to be taking advantage of the fact that Ukraine's stockpile of Patriot interceptor missiles is nearly exhausted.
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