Drone penetrates Romanian airspace for 10 minutes during Russian attack near Ukraine border, F-16s scrambled

Radar detection and airspace breach

Romanian ground radar detected a group of five aerial targets at 01:27 on 13 August 2026, flying over Ukrainian territory near the locality of Izmail, in close proximity to the river border with Romania. Shortly afterward, one of the targets penetrated Romanian national airspace approximately 2 km south of the locality of Pardina, in Tulcea county. The target flew for approximately 10 minutes along the Chilia branch of the Danube before exiting Romanian territory toward Ukraine at a point roughly 13 km southwest of Chilia Veche. The Romanian Ministry of National Defence (MApN) confirmed the sequence in a press statement.

Military and civilian response

The National Military Command Centre notified the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, and an RO-Alert message was transmitted to the population in northern Tulcea county at 01:30. Two F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force, from the 86th Air Base Borcea, were scrambled from the ground to monitor the situation. The air alert for northern Tulcea county was lifted at 02:42, after the target had left Romanian airspace. MApN stated that it permanently monitors the situation and informs allied structures in real time about such incidents.

Explosions reported in Ukraine

Shortly after the aerial target exited Romanian airspace and returned to Ukraine, explosions were reported on Ukrainian territory. The articles do not specify the type of drone or the extent of damage on the Ukrainian side. The incursion occurred during what the articles describe as a Russian aerial attack near the border with Romania.

Pattern of incidents near the border

The 13 August incursion is the latest in a series of airspace violations near Romania's border with Ukraine. According to Mediafax, in July 2026 the Romanian Air Force shot down three drones in three consecutive days. On 24 July, radars detected a target 20 km east of Sulina at 09:39; the drone entered Romania and followed a route through Sulina, Braila, Fetesti, and Buzau. Two Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons and two Romanian F-16s were scrambled, and at 11:02 a Romanian F-16 fired an air-to-air missile, downing the drone over an uninhabited area near the commune of Padina, Buzau county. The Prosecutor General later confirmed the aircraft was a Shahed-type drone. On 25 July, a second drone was downed near the border, and on 26 July, another F-16 shot down a drone near Sulina. No casualties or material damage were recorded in those incidents.