August 16, 2026 

How many Russian drones have entered Romanian territory?

A Spanish F-18 fighter jet carrying out a NATO air-policing mission shot down a drone that illegally entered Romanian airspace. This is far from the first drone detected by Romanian authorities this year, according to CNN.

Romania’s Ministry of Defense said the incident occurred during a patrol conducted by a Spanish F-18 fighter jet as part of a NATO mission. The Romanian ministry did not officially specify the drone’s origin.

According to the ministry, radars detected the drone entering Romanian airspace from neighboring Moldova. This occurred about 24 km north of the city of Galati in the southeastern part of the country.

Fighter jet authorized to engage

After the drone was detected, the F-18 fighter jet established radar contact with it. The drone was then shot down at 5:01 a.m. local time on orders.

Romanian authorities said the wreckage likely fell in an uninhabited area between two villages.

Fourth drone shot down this year

This is already the fourth unmanned aerial vehicle Romania has shot down since the beginning of 2026. Romania has repeatedly recorded airspace violations by drones over the past four years amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, CNN notes.

Context of the incident

Just the day before, fragments of another drone were found in the Romanian border village of Plauru. The settlement is located very close to the border with Ukraine.

RBC-Ukraine also reported that Romania shot down three Russian drones over a three-day period. Bucharest spent about 1.5 million euros to destroy the drones.

https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/romania-shoots-down-russian-drone-over-its-1786857100.html