NATO pilots came close to shooting down a Russian drone that repeatedly entered Romanian airspace, but refrained due to the risk of damage to the ground, Romanian Defense Minister Ionut Moșteanu said, News.bg reports.
“We are dealing with a new Russian provocation against Romania - a drone that the Romanian army and German Eurofighter jets were ready to shoot down“, the minister said, quoted by “Reuters“.
According to the Romanian Defense Ministry, the drone first flew over Tulcea County in the southeastern part of the country before returning to Ukrainian territory. The second border violation occurred in neighboring Galati county, and the drone then headed toward Vrancea county, which does not border Ukraine and is located more than 100 kilometers inland.
The drone was discovered near the border during the day; according to Moșteanu, it was without a warhead.
This is the 13th such incident reported by Romania since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The first case of the day marks a new escalation, notes „Reuters“.