Romania deploys F-16s and Eurofighters amid Russian drone attack on Ukraine: Details
Illustrative photo: Eurofighter aircraft (Getty Images)
Romania deployed jets on the night of Tuesday, April 29, amid a Russian drone attack on Ukraine's border areas, the Romanian Ministry of Defense reports.
During Russia's latest attack on Ukraine, Romania declared an air alert in Tulcea County at around 11:30 p.m. local time. Residents in the northeastern part of the region were warned via the RO-ALERT system.
"The monitoring and surveillance systems of the Ministry of National Defense continuously observed the airspace in the area," the Romanian Defense Ministry stated.
Two F-16 fighter jets from the Romanian Air Force and two Eurofighter jets from the Italian Air Force, which were on air policing duty, were deployed to perform surveillance and airspace protection missions.
The air raid alert was lifted on Tuesday, April 29, at approximately 4:50 a.m. local time, and the fighter jets returned to their home bases.
"Romania's radar monitoring system indicated the possibility that the trajectory of one of the drones involved in the attack briefly crossed national airspace for a distance of up to 500 meters," the Ministry of Defense said.
The last contact with this aerial target was recorded over Ukrainian territory, the ministry added.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Defense planned to inspect areas where drone debris might have fallen and continued monitoring the airspace. The ministry condemned Russia's attacks on Ukraine as illegal and in violation of international law.
Nighttime attack on Ukraine
On the evening of April 28, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine using strike drones from several directions. Due to the air threat, alerts were declared across many regions, including the south, north, center, and in Kyiv.
In particular, more than ten strike drones were launched at Kyiv and the surrounding region.
"Due to the night drone attack, 11 enemy UAVs were recorded around Kyiv and in the airspace above the capital. Nine of them were destroyed by air defense. Two were lost locally," the statement says.
According to Ukraine's Air Force, on the night of April 29, 2025, starting at 11:00 p.m. on April 28, Russian troops launched 100 strike drones and decoy UAVs of other types.
