Romania's Ministry of National Defense has confirmed that a military drone crossed into Romanian airspace and later crashed, after being diverted during Ukrainian air defense activity. Officials said the incident occurred amid a new wave of Russian strikes targeting Ukrainian civilian and infrastructure sites near the northern part of Tulcea County.
According to the ministry, the Romanian Air Force scrambled two F-16 fighter jets from the 86th air base in Borcea at 00:16 to monitor the situation. The drone entered Romanian airspace shortly after, at around 00:44, before going down approximately four kilometers inside the country, near the village of Parchi?, in an area outside populated settlements. Authorities later confirmed the presence of burnt vegetation and debris from the unmanned aircraft, with no casualties or material damage reported. Teams from the Ministry of National Defense and the Romanian Intelligence Service were deployed to secure the site and carry out an investigation.
Residents in northern Tulcea reported hearing loud explosions during the night, with at least 10 emergency calls made to the 112 number. The RO-ALERT system also issued warnings about potential falling objects in the area due to nearby cross-border attacks on Ukrainian territory.
Separately, tensions in the Black Sea region were further highlighted by an incident involving a Turkish crude oil tanker struck by a drone approximately 15 nautical miles from the Bosphorus Strait. The vessel, identified as the Altura and operated by a Turkish company under a Sierra Leone flag, had departed from the Russian port of Novorossiysk carrying about one million barrels of crude oil and is subject to EU and UK sanctions.
Reports indicate the strike caused an explosion on the ship's bridge and flooding in the engine room. The 27-member crew remained safe, while Turkish authorities said the tanker was hit by an unmanned naval vehicle. The ship issued a distress call, prompting the deployment of a Turkish Coast Guard vessel and an emergency response unit to the area.
