Romania’s defence ministry reported that its radar systems detected a small flying object, likely a drone, breaching its airspace late Thursday. The incident occurred in Tulcea County, located in the southeastern part of the country, approximately 6 kilometres inland.
The radar first identified the object at 7:04 PM GMT, about 15 kilometres east of Chilia Veche, a village near the Ukrainian border. Romania, a member of both the European Union and NATO, shares a 650-kilometre (400-mile) border with Ukraine and has experienced repeated instances of Russian drone fragments falling on its territory since the onset of Moscow’s attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure.
The defence ministry promptly alerted the local population to seek shelter and initiated procedures to scramble fighter jets. However, the radar lost the object’s signal at 7:09 PM GMT. Officials stated, “There is no information about a possible target impact on national territory.”
This is not the first time Romania has faced such incidents. In October, radar systems detected several drone signals breaching Romanian airspace over consecutive days. Fighter jets were unable to visually locate the objects, and no crash sites were identified. Defence officials speculated that those events might have involved cyber interference.
The latest breach underscores the heightened security challenges faced by Romania, given its proximity to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the increasing frequency of aerial threats in the region. Authorities continue to monitor the situation closely.
