Three Russian drones targeting Ukraine accidentally entered Romania, a NATO member state, according to Kyiv's air force chief Mykola Oleshchiuk.
Ukrainian forces destroyed 25 out of 38 Russian attack drones launched overnight, Oleshchiuk reported on Thursday. "Last night, the enemy used 38 Shahed-131/136 attack drones, attacking Ukrainian infrastructure in several areas, including the south of the Odesa region and central Ukraine," he explained.
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He noted that three drones crossed into Romanian airspace and were subsequently lost, though he provided no further details or specific timing of the incidents.
Romanian television station Digi24 reported that drone fragments were discovered around a Romanian village near the Danube and the Ukraine border after Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. The Romanian defense ministry confirmed that fragments from a Russian Geran 1/2 drone were found in the area.
NATO stated there was no indication that the drone debris found in Romania was part of an intentional attack on a member state, but described the incident as "irresponsible and potentially dangerous." A NATO spokesperson emphasized, "While NATO has no information indicating any intentional attack by Russia against Allied territory, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous."
NATO has increased its presence in the Black Sea region in response. Reports also indicated that Romanian F-16 fighter jets were scrambled in response to drones entering the country on Tuesday night, with three unmanned aircraft crashing and causing fires.
Romanian territory is just a few hundred meters from the Ukrainian Danube port of Izmail in the southern Odesa region, which faced drone attacks for the second consecutive night. Odesa governor Oleh Kiper reported that two people were wounded when drone debris hit a private house in the Izmail district.
Authorities in Kyiv and the Zhytomyr region confirmed they were also targeted. Zhytomyr’s governor stated that air defense systems intercepted most of the 10 aerial targets overnight, but drone debris damaged 10 private houses and one infrastructure facility.
Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, reported that drones attacked the capital from different directions, but all were destroyed by air defense forces before reaching their targets. Popko confirmed there were no reports of damage or casualties in Kyiv.