NATO jets were scrambled after a drone entered Romanian airspace, as Russia launched a wave of overnight strikes on Ukraine. Romania's defence ministry said its radar system detected a group of aerial targets near the country's border with Ukraine at 2.23am local time.
Spanish F-18s and Romanian helicopter deployed
Two Spanish F-18 fighter jets were scrambled to monitor the situation, and a Romanian air force helicopter was deployed to conduct reconnaissance. According to the ministry, a UAV entered the country's airspace in the early hours of Thursday, local time, around 13 kilometres east of the city of Galați. It crashed in an uninhabited area of Tulcea County and a fire erupted at the scene. No casualties were reported.
It is not clear whether the drone was Russian or Ukrainian, or whether it may have strayed into Romanian airspace unintentionally.
Russian missile barrage hits Kyiv
The incident came as a Russian missile barrage overnight killed at least six people in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, with explosions echoing across the city throughout the night, local authorities said. At least 33 people were wounded in the attack, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Service, with an air raid alert remaining active into the early morning hours of Thursday.
Twelve locations across Kyiv’s Darnytskyi, Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts were struck, damaging residential buildings, a medical facility and an educational institution, the Associated Press reports. Emergency crews pulled people trapped under the rubble.
Poland scrambles jets as border tensions rise
Meanwhile, Poland, which shares part of its Eastern border with Ukraine, scrambled jets to protect its airspace. “These actions are of a preventive nature and are aimed at securing airspace and its protection, especially in areas adjacent to threatened regions,” it said.
Countries neighbouring Ukraine have been on high alert since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022. While Russia has consistently threatened NATO nations like Poland and Romania supportive of Ukraine, the conflict has yet to see a direct confrontation between Vladimir Putin's forces and the bloc. That would represent a major escalation, and the possibility of a collective response by NATO under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which states that an “armed attack against one NATO member shall be considered an attack against them all”.
Ukraine's President Zelensky told the BBC in February that Putin had already started World War Three with his invasion of Ukraine, and the question was how much territory he would be able to seize. However, although allies like the UK have provided support in the form of funding and military kit, the conflict has not drawn other European nations into direct conflict. Russia's latest attack comes after Ukraine stepped up attacks deep inside Russia over the past few weeks, as Kyiv looks to exert pressure on the country's economy.
