A drone entered Moldovan airspace early Monday before crossing into Romania, amid another Russian drone attack on Ukrainian cities overnight, Moldovan news outlet NewsMaker reported.
The drone entered Moldova at 5:55 a.m., coming from the direction of Vynohradivka in Ukraine’s Odesa region and heading toward Vulcănești in Moldova’s Gagauzia region, according to Moldova’s Ministry of Defense. At 6:09 a.m., it was tracked leaving Moldovan airspace near the village of Pașcani in Cahul District, heading toward Romania in the direction of Vedești.
Moldova’s Defense Ministry said airspace in the country’s south was restricted for 15 minutes before reopening, and that the drone’s origin has not yet been identified. The ministry said the incursion followed Russian air attacks on Ukraine overnight.
Romania’s Ministry of Defense said its radar system detected intermittent signals in Moldovan airspace near Cahul at around 6 a.m., with one signal later appearing over the Târgu Bujor area of Romania’s Galați County. Two Romanian Air Force F-16 fighter jets and an IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter were scrambled to monitor the situation, and an alert was issued for the area via the RO-Alert system at 6:12 a.m.
It was the second time in three days that a drone entered Moldovan airspace amid Russian attacks on Ukraine, following a similar incursion on the morning of Aug. 22.