Bucharest, Mar 13 (EFE).- Two Romanian fighter jets and two German aircraft deployed as part of NATO air policing missions were scrambled Friday after drones were detected near the border between Romania and Ukraine, authorities said.
Two Eurofighter Typhoon jets from the NATO Air Policing mission took off at around 11:55 local time (0955 GMT) after surveillance radars detected drones over the Danube Delta, Romania’s Ministry of National Defence said.
The aircraft departed from Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, located on the Black Sea coast, about 250 km from the Ukrainian border.
Authorities also sent an alert message to residents in the Danube Delta region and dispatched teams to check whether any drone debris had fallen on Romanian territory.
By 12:50 local time (1050 GMT), the alert status had been lifted.
Earlier Friday, two F-16 Fighting Falcon jets from the Romanian Air Force had been deployed to the same area following a similar drone alert.
The defense ministry said it was possible that drone fragments had fallen on Romanian soil and that inspection teams had been sent to the area, though no debris had been found so far.
Authorities warned residents that objects could potentially fall from the air within the next 90 minutes and advised them to remain calm while taking shelter in basements or civil protection shelters, or otherwise staying indoors away from windows and exterior walls.
Since the start of Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Romania, which shares a 650-kilometer border with Ukraine, has recorded several incidents involving drones entering or approaching its airspace.
According to the defense ministry, more than 60 Russian attacks on Ukraine have occurred close to the Romanian border.
In about 40 cases, debris from drones fell on Romanian territory, though no casualties or significant damage were reported.
In at least 13 incidents, Russian unmanned aircraft briefly entered Romanian airspace, most often over the Danube Delta region. EFE
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