Two Spanish F-18 fighter jets, already stationed on alert as a precautionary measure, were authorized to intervene at 04:44 on Sunday morning after an unidentified drone was detected 24 kilometres north of the town of Galati. The aerial device was successfully intercepted and destroyed between the towns of Baleni and Cudalbi in south-eastern Romania, an area situated near the border with Moldova. Romanian authorities have not yet confirmed the origin of the drone.
Following the successful operation, the defence minister commended the Spanish pilots and the Romanian military personnel operating the command centre. In his official statement, the minister, identified as Miruta, emphasized that Romania is actively defending its airspace. He noted that the country relies on the support of its allies, which he described as a tangible security guarantee rooted in vigilance, rapid response, and solidarity among Alliance members. He further highlighted that Romania remains on the front line of European Union defence, a status attributed to the nation's approximately 614-kilometre land border with Ukraine.
This incident follows a night of intense aerial exchanges between Russia and Ukraine. Russian bombardments resulted in large fires and at least two injuries in Kyiv, while Moscow reported that it had been targeted by more than 600 drones launched by Kyiv, leading to three injuries on Russian soil.
The weekend event is part of a series of recent aerial incursions. Last Thursday, two Spanish F-18s deployed from the Mihail Kogălniceanu base after an object was detected near the river border with Ukraine. That drone spent approximately 12 minutes in Romanian airspace before returning to Ukraine, prompting officials to issue an SMS alert to residents in Tulcea county. A day later, another drone crashed in Romania after entering undetected at a low altitude, coinciding with reports of allied jets shooting down a drone over Latvia. Earlier this month, an unidentified device exploded in Bulgarian airspace after entering from Romanian territory. The most significant prior incident occurred on 29 May, when a Russian drone struck a residential block in Galati, injuring two people. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has previously reiterated that the alliance remains prepared to defend every inch of its territory against such threats.
