NATO fighter jet shoots down drone over Romania

A Spanish F-18 jet, participating in a NATO air-policing mission, intercepted and shot down a rogue drone over Romanian airspace on Sunday. The unauthorized drone had crossed into Romania from Moldova and was detected by radar 24 kilometers north of the city of Galați. The fighter jet was granted permission to neutralize the drone at 5:01 a.m. On site, investigators found debris from the downed aircraft in an uninhabited area between two villages.

NATO's spokesperson, Martin O’Donnell, confirmed the drone was likely of Russian origin, though further details about the incident are still under investigation. Romania's Ministry of National Defence reassured the public that the incident was being closely monitored and that allied forces were informed in real-time.

This marks the fourth occasion in 2026 that NATO has downed a drone intruding on Romanian territory. In July, Romanian F-16 fighters successfully intercepted and destroyed three Russian drones that had breached Romanian airspace, marking the first such intercepts since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Earlier in May, a Russian drone crashed into an apartment building in Galați, injuring two individuals.

Meanwhile, tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated over the weekend. Russian forces carried out missile and drone strikes on Kyiv on Sunday, causing fires in multiple districts and resulting in three injuries, according to the city's military administration. Ukrainian drones also targeted the Moscow region overnight in what regional governor Andrei Vorobyov described as one of the largest attacks on the area, resulting in the death of an 83-year-old man.