NATO was forced to scramble fighter jets after Russia launched another massive overnight drone assault on Ukraine, triggering fresh air alerts along the alliance's eastern flank.
Two Spanish F-18 fighter jets operating under NATO command took off from a Romanian airbase after military radar detected aerial targets close to the Ukrainian border. The incident unfolded overnight on October 9-10, as Moscow continued its campaign against Ukraine, raising fears that the war could spill over into NATO territory.
Radar detections and alerts
Romania's Defence Ministry said its radar surveillance system detected an aerial target in Ukrainian airspace around 20km north of Periprava, close to the Romanian border. The Spanish aircraft were scrambled from the Mihail Kogălniceanu airbase to monitor the situation.
Authorities issued an emergency RO-Alert warning to residents in northern Tulcea County at 12.17am local time, before the alert ended at 12.40am. A second aerial target was subsequently detected in Ukrainian airspace near Chilia, around 15km east of Vylkove.
Further warnings
A further warning was issued to residents at 2.18am, with the alert ending at 3.13am. The Romanian Defence Ministry reported that on the morning of Wednesday, October 14, its radar surveillance system detected aerial targets near Vylkove, on Ukrainian territory, close to the Romanian border.
The National Military Command Centre notified the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations to implement measures to alert the population in northern Tulcea County. At 6.39am, a RO-Alert message was transmitted.
Two F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force and an IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter were scrambled. According to data provided by radar surveillance systems, the three aerial targets did not enter national airspace.
