For the fourth time this year, NATO has destroyed a drone in Romanian airspace, a fresh reminder that Russia’s war on Ukraine keeps spilling across the alliance’s borders. A Spanish F-18 flying an air-policing mission brought down the intruder early Sunday after it crossed illegally into the country.
Radar first picked up the drone about 24 kilometers north of the eastern city of Galați, tracking it as it entered Romania from neighbouring Moldova. Clearance to engage came at 5:01 a.m.
Whether the drone was Russian remains under investigation, but Martin O’Donnell, spokesperson for NATO operation headquarters, said it “appears to be Russian.”
Wreckage landed in an uninhabited stretch between two villages, authorities said. Romania’s Ministry of National Defence said it was constantly monitoring the situation and informing allied structures of such events in real time.
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Previous interceptions this year include July, when Romanian F-16s downed three Russian drones that breached the country’s airspace, the first such takedowns after dozens of incursions recorded since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Galați has felt the war’s proximity before. In May, a Russian drone crashed into an apartment building in the city, injuring two people.
The intercept came as Russia and Ukraine exchanged strikes over the weekend. Fires broke out in at least two districts of Kyiv and three people were injured after Russian missile and drone attacks early Sunday, the city’s military administration said.
