Romania scrambles F-16s after Russian drone strikes near border

Romania scrambled F-16 fighter jets overnight after Russian forces launched a fresh wave of drone attacks on Ukrainian targets near the Romanian border, the country’s Defence Ministry said on April 29.

According to the ministry, Russian drones targeted civilian and infrastructure sites in Ukraine’s Odesa region, close to the Danube River and Romania’s Tulcea County, during the early hours of April 29.

Two F-16 aircraft assigned to NATO’s Air Policing mission took off from the 86th Air Base in Fetesti at around 1:10 a.m. local time after authorities detected aerial activity near the border.

Romania’s National Military Command Centre also alerted emergency authorities and issued a RO-Alert warning to residents in northern Tulcea County shortly after 1:12 a.m.

Military radar systems tracked two groups of drones, consisting of seven and eight aircraft respectively, which struck the Ukrainian town of Izmail across the Danube River. Romanian pilots reported seeing multiple explosions on the Ukrainian side of the border during the attacks.

The Defence Ministry said no unauthorised incursions into Romanian airspace were detected.

The air alert was lifted at 2:40 a.m., officials added.

The ministry said it remained in permanent contact with allied structures and continued to inform NATO partners in real time about developments linked to the attacks.

By Aghakazim Guliyev