Over half of Russian drone strikes near Ukraine spill into Romanian territory, Ministry says

TEL AVIV: In over 50 per cent of Russia’s drone attacks on Ukraine near Romania’s borders, fragments of Russian drones have fallen on Romanian territory, according to data sent to AGERPRES on Sunday by the Ministry of National Defence (MApN), following two Ro-Alert messages sent to residents in the north of Tulcea County on Saturday evening amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

MApN data shows that since February 2022, when Russia launched its armed conflict in Ukraine, there have been 52 drone attacks conducted exclusively on Ukrainian territory near the Romanian border, involving Russian drones.

Out of these, in 38 cases, drone fragments landed on Romanian territory in the Danube Delta area, and in 10 instances, Russian drones entered Romanian airspace.

On Saturday evening, residents of communities in the immediate vicinity of the northern part of Tulcea County – including the city of Tulcea itself, an area bordering Ukraine – received two extreme alert messages and were urged to take shelter in safe places, as a Russian drone was detected in Romanian airspace.

“The drone loitered for approximately 50 minutes, from north-east of Chilia Veche, Romania, to south-west of Izmail (Odessa region, Ukraine – ed. note) and exited national airspace near the locality of Pardina, heading back towards Ukraine,” the MApN said in a statement.

In response, F-16 and Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, operated by Romanian and German pilots, monitored the area until 9:30 p.m. and were authorised to engage the target, the source said.

“The F-16 aircraft maintained intermittent contact with the target, both visually and via radar, tracking it throughout its course. The pilots were authorised to shoot it down but, during the moments of direct contact, assessed the potential collateral risks and chose not to open fire,” MApN spokesperson, Colonel Corneliu Pavel said.

In its press release, the Ministry of National Defence once again condemned the actions of the Russian Federation, stressing that they pose an ongoing threat to regional security and stability in the Black Sea area.

“Such incidents demonstrate the Russian Federation’s disregard for international law and endanger not only the safety of Romanian citizens but also NATO’s collective security. Romania remains firmly committed to fulfilling its obligations as a NATO member state and will continue to closely cooperate with partners and allies to monitor and defend national airspace. The Ministry of National Defence assures the public that all necessary measures to guarantee national security are being implemented continuously, and defence structures are prepared to respond promptly to any similar situation,” the statement said. (ANI/TPS)