Romania scrambles F-16s due to Russian drone attack on southern Odesa region
Illustrative photo: Romania scrambled F-16 jets (Getty Images)
Today, January 2, Romania scrambled two F-16 fighter jets amid a Russian drone attack on Ukrainian ports along the Danube, this was reported by Romania’s Ministry of Defense, according to Romania Journal.
"Around 11:50, two F-16 fighter jets from the 86th Air Base in Fetești were scrambled to monitor the border area with Ukraine in northern Tulcea County," the Ministry of Defense said.
The ministry added that at 12:00 p.m., residents in the northern part of Tulcea were warned of a potential risk of falling debris. The alert ended at 12:22 p.m. No unauthorized incursions into Romanian airspace were recorded.
Romanian media reported that the warning caught local residents by surprise, as, according to them, there was nowhere to take shelter from the attack.
A similar warning was sent to residents on New Year’s Day, and at that time, according to Romania’s Ministry of Defense, the country’s airspace was not violated during Russian attacks on Ukraine.
Meanwhile, around 11:40 a.m., the Air Force reported that Russian drones were detected over the Black Sea, heading toward Vylkove.
Strikes on the Odesa region
Russian forces struck two energy facilities in the Odesa region on New Year’s Eve.
DTEK (Ukraine's largest private energy company) described the consequences of these attacks as "colossal." Rescuers had extinguished fires at the substations the day before New Year’s, after which energy workers began repairing the damaged facilities.
The targeted energy facilities supply electricity to residents of Odesa’s Prymorskyi and Khadzhybeiskyi districts.
