Two Romanian F-16s responded to at least one unidentified target over NATO territory on Wednesday, with investigations ongoing into at least the third violation of alliance airspace in the country within a week.
Romania’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that its military radars had detected an unspecified “aerial target” along the border between Romania and Ukraine at around 8:45 p.m. local time on Wednesday.
Radars tracked the target west toward the town of Tulcea, before losing the signal at around 9 p.m. local time, just over 7 miles northeast of the settlement, according to the government.
Tulcea sits directly across the border from the Ukrainian port of Izmail, which Russia has repeatedly attacked. The Danube River marks the border between the two countries, just north of Tulcea.