Romanian F-16 fighter jets shoot down two drones over Romanian territorial waters
NATO member Romania shares a border with Ukraine, much of it along the Danube, and has repeatedly reported Russian drone incursions into its airspace since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
On Saturday, Romanian F-16 fighter jets launched an attack, downing two drones within the nation's territorial waters, according to the defense ministry. This incident followed two chemical tankers being targeted by drones close to Romania's Black Sea coast, a trend underscoring the vulnerability of commercial shipping along NATO's eastern boundary.
Both stranded vessels were anchored near the Sulina canal, a vital trade route linking the Danube River to the Black Sea and stretching 614 km along Romania's border with Ukraine. Romania, a NATO member state, shares a significant portion of this border with Ukraine, frequently reporting Russian drone incursions into its airspace since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The defense ministry reported that the two drones breached Romanian airspace over the Black Sea at 1459 GMT and 1501 GMT on Saturday. However, the ministry refrained from disclosing the drones' origins. The two tankers struck earlier this week met their demise at the hands of Russian drones, as confirmed by a NATO military source to Reuters.
Tragically, seven crew members remain missing after the attacks, while at least five other cargo ships have been victimized by drones near the coasts of Romania and its neighbor Bulgaria within the past ten days, resulting in 23 sailors reported dead or missing. The majority of these incidents transpired beyond NATO's territorial waters.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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