Romanian F-16 fighter jets shoot down two drones over Romanian territorial waters

Romanian F-16 fighter jets shot down two drones over Romania's territorial waters in the Black Sea on Saturday, the defense ministry said. The ministry did not specify the origin of the drones. The incident follows two chemical tankers being hit by Russian drones near Romania's coast earlier in the week, with seven crew members missing.

Romanian F-16 fighter jets shot down two drones over Romania's territorial waters in the Black Sea on Saturday, the defense ministry said. The drones entered Romanian waters at 1459 GMT and 1501 GMT, respectively. The ministry did not specify the origin of the drones. The incident comes days after two chemical tankers were hit by Russian drones near Romania's Black Sea coast, the latest in a series of attacks highlighting risks to commercial shipping on NATO's eastern flank. Romanian officials are still searching for seven missing crew members from those tankers. At least five other cargo ships have been hit near the coasts of Romania and neighboring Bulgaria in the past 10 days, with 23 sailors reported dead or missing. Most of those incidents occurred outside NATO territorial waters. NATO member Romania shares a 614-km border with Ukraine and has repeatedly reported Russian drone incursions since the 2022 invasion.