The Romanian Ministry of National Defense has reported a possible violation of its airspace during Russia’s overnight drone attacks on Ukraine.
On the night of September 29 to 30, Russian forces launched a series of drone attacks on various targets in Ukraine. NATO member Romania detected groups of drones heading towards Ukrainian territory near the Romanian border.
The Romanian Armed Forces’ radar monitoring system identified a potential unauthorized foray into Romania’s national airspace, with a signal spotted heading towards the Galați Municipality.
“Following the detection of certain groups of drones heading towards the Ukrainian territory, near the border with Romania, the Ministry of National Defense alerted the Air Police Service forces and notified, starting at 22:38, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations regarding the enforcement of emergency measures to alert the population of Tulcea and Galați Counties, “the Romanian Ministry of National Defense shared in a statement on October 1, 2023.
Alerts advising residents to seek shelter were sent out to Tulcea and Galați residents, urging them to remain calm and seek shelter. Around two hours later, the alert measures were dropped.
The Romanian government has been in frequent contact with NATO, providing it with updates on the situation as it develops.
While no physical evidence has yet been discovered on Romanian territory, the search continues.
This is not an isolated incident. Romania has previously discovered drone fragments from the ongoing conflict on several occasions during September 2023.
The first drone to land on Romanian territory was reported by Ukrainian authorities on September 4, 2023. While initially Romania’s Defense Ministry “firmly denied” that the drones had landed on Romanian soil, it later admitted to discovering the wreckage of a drone in the Romanian Danube Delta region.
Ukrainian grain silos in the city ports of Izmail and Reni, regularly targeted by Russian air strikes, are located 200 meters from the central line of the Danube River, which marks Ukraine’s border with NATO member Romania, and 400 meters away from the Romanian riverbank.