On July 27, Romanian F-16 fighter jets successfully shot down a drone over the country’s territorial waters, near the Sulina–Kilia area. This is the third drone to be shot down by the Romanian military in the last three days, according to President Nicușor Dan.
The president expressed his gratitude to the pilots and ground units for their professionalism in defending Romania’s airspace. According to Dan, an investigation by the General Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the drone shot down on July 24 was a Russian Shahed used to attack Ukraine. The origin of the other two drones, destroyed on July 26 and 27, is still being determined.
“Romania will lodge a diplomatic protest with the Russian Federation based on the results of these investigations. It is unacceptable for Russia to continue violating our airspace, which is also part of NATO and the EU,” the president emphasized.
Bucharest, together with its NATO allies, takes such incidents seriously. As a reminder, on July 24, a Romanian fighter jet shot down a drone that had intruded into the country’s airspace. The following day, the military destroyed another drone near the border with Ukraine.
Earlier, in Romania’s exclusive economic zone, the ship Christiana B, which was transporting coal from the U.S. to Ukraine, sustained damage, presumably due to a maritime drone or a mine.
