Romania issues second Tulcea drone alert in two nights
Spanish F-18 jets scrambled and Romania issued a new alert for Tulcea county after radar detected drones near the Ukrainian border overnight, the defence ministry said.
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Romania's defence ministry said radar systems detected two aerial targets near the Ukrainian border overnight into Tuesday, prompting two Spanish F-18 fighter jets to take off and a new alert to be sent to residents of northern Tulcea county.
The targets were picked up over Ukrainian territory near the towns of Izmail and Kiliya, close to the Romanian border, the ministry said. Ukraine's air force operations centre separately confirmed the presence of several drones in the area, including near Vilkovo.
Two Spanish F-18 jets assigned to NATO air-policing duties took off from the 57th air base at Mihail Kogalniceanu in response, the ministry said. Romania's national military command centre asked the emergency situations inspectorate to warn residents of northern Tulcea county through the RO-Alert system; the alert was sent late on Monday evening and lifted shortly after midnight.
The defence ministry said no breach of Romanian airspace was recorded and there was no indication the drones had entered Romanian territory. It was the second night in a row that Romania issued a civilian alert over drone activity near the border: an earlier RO-Alert on Monday morning followed drone strikes on Ukrainian river ports on the Danube opposite Tulcea county.
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What we know
- 2+ outlets · NOVA News, 24 Chasa Romania detected two aerial targets near Izmail and Kiliya in Ukraine, close to its border, overnight into Tuesday.
- 2+ outlets · NOVA News, 24 Chasa Two Spanish F-18 jets took off from Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in response.
- 1 outlet · Vesti.bg An RO-Alert was sent to residents of northern Tulcea county late on Monday and lifted shortly after midnight.
- 1 outlet · Vesti.bg The defence ministry said no Romanian airspace breach was recorded.
How each fact is established: Verified checked by an ECTV editorOfficial stated by an official body2+ outlets reported independently by two or more news organisations1 outlet reported by a single news organisation so farUnconfirmed claimed or reportedHow we label facts
Claims in this story
Claims tracker →- UnverifiedUkraine's air force operations centre· 3 Nov 2026
Ukraine's air force operations centre confirmed the presence of several drones in the area, including near Vilkovo.
- UnverifiedRomania's defence ministry· 3 Nov 2026
Romania's defence ministry said radar systems detected two aerial targets near the Ukrainian border overnight into Tuesday.
Why it matters for Europe
The repeated alerts in Tulcea county, a NATO and EU border region, show how drone activity on the Ukrainian side of the Danube continues to trigger scrambles and civilian warnings inside Romania, even when officials say no incursion into Romanian airspace has occurred.
Sources
Reported by 3 reports from 3 independent outlets in 1 countries.
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Questions and answers
- Did drones cross into Romania?
- No. The defence ministry said no breach of Romanian airspace was recorded.
- Is this the first such alert this week?
- No. It is the second consecutive night Romania has issued a Tulcea county alert over drone activity near the Ukrainian border.
This article was written with AI assistance from 3 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.