Romania scrambles jets after Russian drone strikes near border

Romania was forced to scramble fighter jets in the early hours of November 24 after Russia launched drone attacks on civilian and port infrastructure in southern Ukraine, near the Romanian border.

A statement from the Romanian Ministry of Defence reads that radar systems detected aerial targets moving toward Izmail city of Ukraine, per Caliber.Az.

In response, two German Eurofighter Typhoons, on a routine patrol in the region, were scrambled. No violations of Romanian airspace were recorded, and the aircraft returned to base.

Later, radar detected additional targets approximately 30 kilometres north of Snake Island, possibly heading toward Vylkove, Kiliya, or Izmail. Romania responded by deploying two F-16 Fighting Falcons. Residents in the northern part of Tulcea County were issued RO-Alert warnings.

“The F-16s monitored aerial targets at various distances from Izmail and observed explosions on Ukrainian territory. No violations of Romanian airspace by drones were recorded,” the Ministry of Defence noted. The jets subsequently returned to their base.

This is not the first instance of Romanian jets being scrambled in response to Russian strikes. On November 22, fighter aircraft were deployed following attacks in southern Odesa Oblast. Last week, one Russian drone even flew over Romanian and Moldovan territory during a large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine.

By Khagan Isayev