Romanian scrambles jets amid Russian drone attack on Ukraine

Romanian Armed Forces said Sunday that it scrambled F-16 fighter jets in response to a massive Russian drone attack in the Odesa region, Ukraine.

The General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations of Romania issued air alarms in the Tulcea and Galati counties bordering Odesa. Residents received RO-Alert notifications until nearly 3 a.m. and a second alarm occurred at 5 a.m., lasting until 6:20 a.m., according to the Romanian Ministry of Defense.

Furthermore, F-16 military aircraft from the Fetesti military airbase were scrambled “to perform search missions in the national airspace in this situation.”

Although no violations of Romanian airspace were recorded during the alarms, the Romanian Ministry of Defense emphasizes its condemnation of the attacks by the Russian Federation on civilian infrastructure in Ukrainian Danube ports, denouncing them as unjustified and in serious violation of international humanitarian law.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia launched an attack with 31 drones, of which 23 were shot down. The attack in Odessa occurred in three waves, resulting in casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure in Odessa and Izmail.