Romanian and German NATO fighter jets were deployed on Tuesday near Romania’s border with Ukraine to respond to a drone incursion that penetrated deeper than ever into Romanian airspace, in what Bucharest called a Russian provocation.
Defense Minister Ionut Mosteanu said NATO pilots came close to shooting down a drone that had repeatedly entered the alliance member country’s airspace, but failed to do so due to concerns about causing damage on the ground.
Fragments of the drone without an explosive charge were later found in Romanian territory.
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‘We are dealing with a new Russian provocation against Romania, a drone that the Romanian Army and German Eurofighters tried to shoot down,’ Mosteanu said.
‘My assumption is that (the pilots) looked at the possible collateral damage and (…) chose not to get involved.’
Russian drones struck Ukrainian ports overnight near the border with Romania, which is across the Danube River.
Tuesday’s breach was the 13th that Romania has recorded in its airspace since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In addition to being the deepest, it was also the first to occur during the day rather than at night.
Romania shares a 650km border with Ukraine.
