মহানবী (সা.) যেভাবে মানবজাতির জন্য রহমতস্বরূপ

 

NATO jets deployed after record-deep drone incursion into Romania

 Online Desk

Romania scrambled two Eurofighter jets, which tracked a drone in the southeastern Romanian county of Tulcea before it re-entered Ukrainian airspace-EPA

Romanian and German Nato fighter jets were scrambled on November 25 near Romania’s border with Ukraine to respond to a drone incursion that penetrated deeper than ever into Romanian airspace, in what Bucharest called a Russian provocation, Straits Times reports.

Defence Minister Ionut Mosteanu said the Nato pilots came close to shooting down a drone which had repeatedly entered the alliance member country’s airspace, but had held off, over concern about causing damage on the ground.

Drone fragments without an explosive charge were later found on Romanian territory.

“We are dealing with a new Russian provocation against Romania, a drone which the Romanian army and German Eurofighters have tried to shoot down,” Mr Mosteanu said.

“My assumption is that (the pilots) analysed the potential collateral damage and... chose not to engage.”

Russian drones had struck Ukrainian ports overnight near the border with Romania, which lies across the Danube River.

The November 25 breach was the 13th that Romania has reported into its airspace since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In addition to being the deepest, it was also the first to take place during daylight, rather than at night.

The Romanian defence ministry said it initially scrambled two Eurofighters from a German air-policing mission in Romania, which tracked a drone in the southeastern county of Tulcea before it re-entered Ukraine.

The army later scrambled two Romanian F-16 fighter jets after radar showed a second airspace breach in the neighbouring county of Galati. Mosteanu said an additional two Eurofighters followed. 

The ministry said the planes tracked the drone moving towards the county of Vrancea, which does not share a border with Ukraine and is more than 100km inland.

Residents of all three counties were warned to take cover, a warning that was later lifted.

Romania shares a 650km border with Ukraine.