Romania scrambles fighter jets over Russian drone attack on Ukrainian Danube cities
Romania scrambled fighter jets and put its air defences on heightened alert on the night of 13-14 April due to a group of Russian strike drones heading to attack targets in Ukraine.
Source: European Pravda, citing a statement by Romania's Ministry of Defence on 14 April
Details: The ministry said that in the early hours of 14 April, Russia resumed drone attacks on targets in Ukraine near the Ukrainian-Romanian border along the Danube River.
After detecting a group of UAVs near Romania's airspace north of Vylkove, the National Military Command Centre notified the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations to initiate public warning measures in northern Tulcea County, and a RO-Alert notification was sent at 03:48, the statement said.
Two Romanian F-16 fighter jets were deployed from the Fetești air base for patrol, while air defence systems were placed on alert.
Romania's Defence Ministry added that no violations of national airspace were recorded and the all-clear was given at 04:45.
Background:
- Over the course of the full-scale war, Russian Shahed-type drones have repeatedly fallen on the Romanian bank of the Danube and have at times penetrated deeper into the country's territory.
- Following the first such incidents, air-raid warnings began to be issued in border areas along the Danube, and scrambling aircraft later became a routine procedure.
- In one case, a drone resembling a Gerbera flew dozens of kilometres into Romania and crashed behind a private residence.
- Romania and Bulgaria have also faced challenges from drifting naval mines that have broken loose and occasionally washed up on their shores. Bucharest has indicated it holds Russia responsible.
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