Romanian aircraft shot down two drones over the country, the Romanian Ministry of Defence reported on 17 October.
According to the ministry, two F-16s were scrambled from the 86th Air Base in Borcha at 17:43 after radar systems “detected a group of aerial targets, flying approximately 120 kilometres east of Zmeiny Island in a south-westerly direction’.”
The first target was shot down at 18:01 — two minutes after it entered the country’s airspace. The second drone was destroyed at 18:05.
“Both aerial targets were identified as unmanned aerial vehicles; they were shot down over Romania’s territorial waters. Further information will be provided once the mission is complete,” the ministry added.
On the morning of 15 October, the San Marino-flagged vessel Wine Trader, which was carrying chemical products, caught fire in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania. Of the 12 crew members, seven are listed as missing, whilst five have been rescued.
The incident occurred after Russian drones entered Romanian airspace, according to Romanian officials. However, representatives of the Romanian authorities did not directly link the fire on the vessel to the Russian drones.