Romania scrambled fighter jets early on Tuesday after drones breached its airspace near the Ukrainian border.
Romania launched fighter jets early Tuesday after drones breached its airspace near the Ukrainian border, the defence ministry confirmed. Officials said one of the drones briefly penetrated deeper into Romanian territory before turning back.
The first alert prompted the dispatch of two German Eurofighters, operating under NATO’s air-policing mission, to track a drone over Tulcea County. That drone eventually re-entered Ukrainian airspace. A second radar alert then triggered the launch of two Romanian F-16s after another drone crossed into Galați County and moved inland toward Vrancea. Residents across all three counties received shelter warnings.
Romania, an EU and NATO member with a 650-kilometre border with Ukraine, has seen multiple drone incursions and debris incidents as Russia intensifies strikes on Ukrainian Danube ports. Romanian forces are authorised to shoot down drones in peacetime if lives or property are threatened, though that measure has not yet been used.
The incident comes as European officials strike a cautiously optimistic tone following weekend discussions on a revised U.S. peace proposal for Ukraine. While several concerns raised by Kyiv and EU governments were addressed, leaders noted that significant issues remain unresolved.
