site.btaRomania Scrambles F-16 Fighter Jets over Russian Drone Attack Near Border with Ukraine

Romania scrambled two F-16 fighter jets in response to yet another Russian drone strike targeting Ukrainian infrastructure near the Romanian border, the Romanian Ministry of National Defence said on Wednesday.

During the night of August 5 to 6, Russian forces launched a large-scale drone attack on civilian infrastructure in the Izmail area of Ukraine, near the Romanian border, the Ministry said. Romanian radar systems detected aerial targets in Ukrainian airspace, near Tulcea.

At 01:10 a.m. local time, residents in the northern part of Tulcea County received an alert via the national Ro-Alert warning system about the risk of falling objects. Explosions in Ukraine were visible from the Romanian side of the Danube River, particularly in Galati and Braila, Digi24 reported.

The air raid alert lasted approximately 90 minutes. Shortly after the Ro-Alert message was issued, several emergency calls were made to the 112 emergency number, reporting fires in Tulcea and near Isaccea. However, these reports were not confirmed by emergency response teams dispatched to the locations.

The Delta Inspectorate for Emergency Situations of Tulcea County said that following the air strike, a fire broke out on Ukrainian territory, near the Romanian border. “This may have led callers to believe the fire was occurring closer to them. Nevertheless, emergency response teams remained on standby in their designated areas, ready to intervene if needed. Once again, we urge calm and remind citizens that Romanian territory is not the target of Russian Federation attacks,"  the inspectorate said.

The Ministry of National Defence has also informed allied structures in real time and remains in contact with them regarding the attacks.