SPANISH fighter jets shot down a suspected Russian drone after it illegally entered Romanian airspace on Sunday.
The two F-18s, which was patrolling Romanian skies as part of a NATO mission, shot down the unauthorised aircraft at 5.01am after it entered from Moldova.
Debris then fell in an uninhabited area between the villages of Baleni and Cudalbi, near the eastern Romanian city of Galati.
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NATO spokesperson Martin O’Donnell said authorities were investigating the wreckage, adding the drone ‘appeared to be Russian’.
Writing in Spanish, Romanian national security councillor Marius Lazurca said on X: “Thank you, Spain!
“Just one day after taking part in the celebrations and exercises marking Romanian Navy Day, an F-18 Hornet of the Spanish Air Force shot down a drone that had entered Romanian airspace.
“Our deepest gratitude to Spain for its participation in NATO’s Air Policing mission!”
Incursions by Russian drones into Romanian airspace have intensified in 2026.
In July, Romanian F-16s shot down three Russian drones that had breached the country’s airspace.
Earlier in May, two people were injured after another drone crashed into an apartment building in Galati.
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Spain deployed 200 soldiers, seven fighter jets and three helicopters to Romania in early August to help bolster NATO defences in the region.
The contingent will remain in the country until December.
It comes after Russia and Ukraine traded strikes over the weekend, with Russian missile and drone attacks on Kyiv injuring three people on Sunday, according to the city’s military administration.
Ukrainian drones also struck the Moscow region overnight, killing an 83-year-old man. Regional governor Andrei Vorobyov described the onslaught as one of the largest to target the area since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
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