Romania has requested a meeting of the North Atlantic Council after two drones were shot down over its territorial waters in the Black Sea. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 20, and will be dedicated to defense and deterrence in the region, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced, as quoted by Digi24.
The decision comes after new incidents with drones and attacks on merchant ships off Romania and Bulgaria. On October 17, two Romanian F-16s took off from Borcea airbase after radars detected a group of air targets about 120 kilometers east of Snake Island.
According to the Romanian Ministry of National Defense, the first target entered national airspace at 17:59 and was shot down two minutes later. The second penetrated at 18:01 and was destroyed at 18:05. Both aircraft were identified as drones and were shot down over Romanian territorial waters.
Just hours earlier, Spanish F-18 fighter jets based at the Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase had been alerted to an air target moving over Ukrainian territory towards the Romanian border. The Romanian Defense Ministry said that in this case, no entry into national airspace was detected, but an alert was sent to the population in the northern part of Tulcea County.
New attacks on ships
The NATO meeting is being convened against the backdrop of a series of drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea. In the latest incident, the Wine Trader, flying the flag of San Marino, was hit off the Romanian coast and caught fire. Five people were rescued and seven are missing, the Associated Press reported, citing Romanian maritime authorities.
Romanian President Nikosor Dan said that the ship was hit by a drone, but did not specify whose device it was. A day earlier, a fire broke out on the tanker Yara J in Romanian territorial waters, without any crew members being injured. Attacks on ships have also been recorded in Bulgaria, including an incident with a vessel in which the crew was evacuated.
“We are in the same situation in the Black Sea. We have to protect the waters under our territory“, said Nikusor Dan in an interview with Euronews.According to the Romanian Ministry of National Defense, 54 unauthorized incursions of drones or other aerial vehicles into Romanian air or sea space have been recorded since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Six drones have been shot down, all of which were reported in 2026.
Romania and Bulgaria have not yet triggered Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which provides for consultations when an ally believes its territorial integrity or security is threatened. According to Radio Romania, strengthening the allied presence, monitoring the Black Sea and providing additional capabilities to counter drones are among Bucharest's goals.
The origin of the drones that hit the merchant ships has not yet been officially established. Investigations into the incidents are ongoing, and a meeting of the North Atlantic Council is expected to determine the Alliance's next measures in the Black Sea.
Sources: digi24.ro, apnews.com, euronews.com