Romania scrambles fighter jets over Russian drone attack on Ukraine

Romania scrambled fighter jets because of a large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine's border regions on the night of 12-13 February.

According to the Romanian Ministry of Defence, radar monitoring and surveillance systems detected flying targets that changed flight routes in several sections of Ukraine's airspace. 

An air-raid warning was also issued for Tulcea and Galați counties.

Two Romanian Air Force F-16s, followed by two Spanish Air Force Eurofighter aircraft, took off to observe and monitor the area's airspace as part of NATO Air Policing.

At around 00:30, the Romanian Ministry of Defence's radar systems detected an air target that briefly crossed national airspace from the direction of the Ukrainian village of Reni, approximately 1 km inland, before heading back towards Ukrainian airspace.

Meantime, there were reports of a possible impact zone in Romanian territory near the Ukrainian border, although no substantial damage was observed. 

At 01:10, both counties issued the all-clear, and the fighter jets returned to their air bases. 

Romania informed allied structures of the situation in real time following the attacks and is maintaining close communication with them.

It was also reported that during the large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine, several drones flew into Moldova, one of which exploded.

The day before, Moldova reported the discovery of a drone in a field near the village of Salcia, Taraclia district.