An unidentified drone crashed in Romania near the border with Ukraine.
According to Romania’s Ministry of National Defence, the drone entered Romanian airspace at 3:21 a.m. local time, approximately 13 kilometers east of the city of Gala?i. The UAV crashed about 4 kilometers northeast of Grindul in Tulcea County, in an uninhabited area.
A fire broke out after the drone hit the ground but extinguished itself.
The drone was monitored by the pilots of two F-18 fighter jets from the Spanish Air Force from the moment it entered Romanian airspace. A Romanian Air Force IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter was also deployed for reconnaissance, and its crew confirmed that the UAV had crashed.
Earlier, a Spanish fighter jet deployed in Romania as part of a NATO mission shot down a drone that entered Romanian airspace near the borders with Ukraine and Moldova.
Romania, a NATO member with a population of around 19 million, has been among the alliance’s countries most exposed to the consequences of the war in Ukraine. Its eastern border along the Black Sea lies close to areas that have been repeatedly targeted by strikes.