Romania's F-16 fighter jets took off overnight because of threat of Shaheds over Danube

On the night of 24 July, two F-16 fighter jets took off in Romania in connection with a Russian kamikaze drone attack on Ukrainian ports on the Danube, which are separated from Romanian territory only by the riverbed. 

As reported by Romanian TV news channel Digi24, the Romanian Ministry of Defence reported that in connection with another Russian attack on targets in Ukraine, it has increased airspace monitoring measures. 

"At 02:19, two F-16s of the Romanian Air Force took off from the airbase in Borcea (RoAF 86th Air Base) to monitor the situation in the airspace. The fighters returned to the base around 04:20", the statement said.

The ministry also announced that it would send a team to the village of Plauru, on the opposite side of the Danube near Izmail, to search for wreckage of downed drones that could potentially fall on Romanian territory. The search will continue throughout the day.

It was reported that an air-raid warning was issued for settlements in the Tulcea area, opposite Izmail on the Romanian side of the Danube. Ten people called the emergency service because they were afraid of explosions.

Izmail authorities reported that the attack damaged the port infrastructure of a residential building and injured three people.

As is known, there were cases of drone debris falling on the territory of Romania during the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. After the first such incidents, air-raid warnings were issued for villages on the Danube. Some local authorities stated that they considered these air-raid warnings unnecessary. 

An investigation in Romania concluded that the Russian drones fell on Romanian territory "by accident".