Romania Shoots Down Drone Breaching Airspace
BUCHAREST: Romania’s defense ministry reported on Sunday that a pilot flying a Spanish F-18 fighter jet, part of a NATO air policing mission, successfully shot down a drone that had crossed into Romanian airspace without authorization. This incident marks the fourth drone the country has intercepted this year.
Romania shares a lengthy land border of 614 kilometers (about 382 miles) with Ukraine and has experienced frequent violations of its airspace by Russian drones over the past four years. Additionally, the country’s critical trade and energy routes in the Black Sea have been threatened by floating mines.
While the origin of the drone was not disclosed, defense officials indicated that it was detected entering from Moldova, approximately 24 kilometers (15 miles) north of Galati, a city in southeastern Romania. The ministry confirmed that the F-18 pilot established radar contact with the drone and received authorization to engage, successfully shooting it down at 5:01 AM.
In a separate incident, Ukrainian officials reported that a missile attack on Kyiv caused fires and resulted in one injury. The fragments of the missile reportedly landed in an unpopulated area between two villages.
Previously in July, Romanian F-16 pilots had also shot down three Russian drones that entered the country’s airspace, marking a significant response after many similar violations during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Earlier this year, another Russian drone crashed into an apartment building in Galati while targeting Ukraine, injuring two residents.
