Romania issues air-raid warning over Russian drone attack on Ukraine for second night in a row

Residents of the northern district of Tulcea in Romania received an air-raid warning on the night of 29-30 January because of a Russian drone attack near the Romanian border.

As reported by Digi24, Romania's Ministry of National Defence's monitoring and surveillance systems reported drones in Ukraine's airspace near the border.

The RO-Alert message, sent out at around 04:00, informed the population of the possibility of UAVs falling from the airspace and urged them to take shelter. The air-raid warning lasted 90 minutes.

A similar message was sent out on the night of 28-29 January after Russia attacked port infrastructure in Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defence reported that two Romanian F-16s, part of the air policing combat service, took off from the 86th Air Base in Borca at around 03:40. The jets returned to the base around 05:00.

The data provided by the Romanian Air Force's radar systems do not indicate that drones have entered Romanian airspace.

However, the Defence Ministry stated that it will perform searches throughout the day in locations where threats may occur as a result of these situations, as well as continuing aerial monitoring flights.

Allied structures are also kept up to date on the developments resulting from the attacks.

The wreckage of attack drones used by Russia to attack Ukrainian ports has been repeatedly found in the border area on the Romanian bank of the Danube.

On 29 September 2024, NATO began additional surveillance of Romanian airspace, deploying another Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft.

At the end of October 2024, it was reported that the Romanian Ministry of Defence had prepared a draft law that would allow the shooting down of drones that violate the country's airspace.