NATO points to likely origin of drone downed over Romania
An UAV in the sky (illustrative photo: Getty Images)
Romania's Defense Ministry did not officially identify the drone's origin. Clarification came from the NATO operation headquarters, Politico reports.
What NATO said
Martin O'Donnell, a spokesperson for the NATO operation headquarters, said additional details about Sunday's incident remain under investigation. At the same time, he said the drone "appeared to be Russian."
Romanian Defense Ministry had not previously officially identified the drone's origin.
"The Ministry of National Defense is constantly monitoring the situation and informs in real time the allied structures about such events," the ministry added.
Drone detection place
The drone was detected by radar about 24 kilometers north of the eastern city of Galați after entering Romania from Moldova. After establishing radar contact, the fighter jet was authorized to shoot it down at 5:01 a.m.
According to authorities, fragments of the destroyed UAV fell in an uninhabited area between two villages.
As previously reported, a Spanish F-18 fighter jet operating as part of a NATO mission shot down a drone that illegally entered Romanian airspace from Moldova.
The previous day, fragments of another drone were found in the Romanian border village of Plauru.
