Romania scrambled two F-16 fighter jets overnight after Russian drones targeted Ukrainian infrastructure near the Romanian border, the country’s defense ministry said on Tuesday.
According to Agerpress, Russian forces launched a new series of drone attacks against civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine near the Danube River border area opposite Romania’s Tulcea County.
As a result, air raid alerts were issued overnight in areas near the Ukrainian border.
“Two F-16 aircraft on Air Policing combat duty took off at approximately 1:45 am from the 86th Air Base in Fetesti,” the ministry said in a statement.
Romanian radar systems detected a group of drones that carried out strikes on the Ukrainian port city of Izmail, the ministry said, adding that no radar signals indicating violations of Romanian airspace were identified.
Romania’s Defense Ministry said it informed allied structures in real time about the situation and remained in constant contact with NATO partners.
As reported, the air raid alert ended at 2:57 a.m..
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Shahed-type drones have repeatedly fallen on Romanian territory near the Danube River or briefly crossed into Romanian airspace.
Following the first such incidents, Romanian authorities introduced air raid alerts for border regions along the Danube and later made the scrambling of military aircraft a routine response procedure.
In Ukraine, local authorities said the Russian drone attack damaged port infrastructure facilities in the southern city of Izmail. The Izmail District Military Administration said emergency crews from Ukraine’s State Emergency Service extinguished and eliminated the consequences of the strike overnight.
No injuries or major destruction were reported.