BUCHAREST - A Spanish fighter jet on Aug 16 shot down a drone that had reached Romanian airspace near the border with Ukraine and Moldova, national authorities and NATO said.

A growing number of drones have crossed into NATO states in eastern Europe as Russia pursues its invasion of Ukraine.

The interception of the drone - which entered from Moldova - was carried out by an F-18, deployed on NATO duties, at 5.01am (10.01am in Singapore), the Romanian defence ministry said in a statement.

Debris fell in an unpopulated area of the Galati region, near the Ukrainian border, it added.

Spain’s defence ministry said on X that its air force had shown “its outstanding professionalism in the defence of European airspace”.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said he had spoken with his Romanian counterpart Oana Toiu, who thanked the pilots.

NATO Air Command said on X that the mission involved two F-18s, which are part of a Spanish contingent of around 200 personnel and 11 aircraft based in Romania.

A spokesperson for NATO’s military headquarters, US Army Colonel Martin O’Donnell, said the alliance is constantly on watch and prepared to defend itself from any threat.

“Additional details regarding Sunday’s incident remain under investigation, but the drone appears to be Russian,” he said.

Romania‘s defence ministry did not specify the origin of the drone.

Romania‘s eastern seaboard, bordering the Black Sea, is close to areas frequently targeted by Russian strikes. This was the fourth drone to be destroyed in the country since the start of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In a separate incident on Aug 16 announced by the defence ministry, drone debris was found in the Black Sea, off Romania‘s city of Constanta.

In July, Romania expelled a Russian embassy employee in what it called “a firm response” to drones repeatedly breaching the country’s airspace. Romania shot down three drones on three consecutive days before the expulsion.

Authorities have reported finding drone fragments on Romanian soil several times since 2023 following Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports along the Danube River, which lie just across the border.

Similar incidents have been reported elsewhere on NATO’s eastern flank, including in Poland and the Baltic states.

On Aug 14, NATO said Italian jets operating under the alliance’s air-policing mission shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace. AFP, REUTERS