In the early hours of Friday, Romania declared an air alert following a Russian drone assault targeting Ukrainian ports along the Danube River. The Romanian Ministry of Defense confirmed that surveillance systems detected nine drones moving toward the area.
The alert was triggered shortly after 3 AM, coinciding with ongoing attacks by Russian forces on southern Odesa. Notifications via the RO-Alert system were dispatched at 3:36 AM to residents in Tulcea County.
Reports indicated explosions on the Ukrainian side of the Danube, particularly near the towns of Izmail and Kiliya. However, Romanian radar systems did not detect any violations of its airspace during the incident.
The air alert was lifted at 4:03 AM. Throughout the ongoing conflict, Russian drones, particularly the Shahed model, have frequently crashed on Romanian territory or breached its airspace. Following initial incidents, air alerts became standard procedure in border areas along the Danube, often accompanied by the deployment of military aircraft.
In one notable case, a drone resembling a Gerbera penetrated deep into Romania, crashing near a private residence.
Romania issued an air alert after detecting Russian drones targeting Ukrainian ports. The alert was lifted shortly after confirming no airspace violations occurred.