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By Ellie Cook
Senior Defense Reporter
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NATO member Romania scrambled fighter jets as two Russian drones crossed into the country's airspace from Ukraine, Bucharest's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday, after Moscow launched extensive missile and drone strikes on its neighbor.
Moldova, a non-NATO country bordering both Ukraine and Romania, separately said it had detected six drones in its airspace, including one uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) that then traveled toward Romania.
Why It Matters
Russian drones have frequently crossed into NATO territory since the Kremlin began its full-scale war in Ukraine in early 2022. Romania has found Russian drone fragments several times and often scrambles fighter jets when Moscow carries out intensive attacks on western regions of Ukraine.
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Romania's Tulcea region sits directly across the border from the Ukrainian port of Izmail, which Russia has repeatedly targeted. The Danube River marks the border between the two countries, just north of Tulcea.
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What To Know
Bucharest detected a target heading for its airspace close to Tulcea and scrambled two German Typhoon fighter jets from a base in the southeast of the country shortly before 6:30 a.m. local time, the ministry said. Germany has fighter jets stationed in Romania as part of NATO air policing.
The drone crossed into Romania close to the Ukrainian settlement of Vylkove, and an alert was sent to local residents in Tulcea just before 7 a.m., the government said.
Two Romanian F-16 jets were also scrambled from another air base, minutes before authorities said Romanian radars picked up a second drone breaching the country's airspace. Alerts were sent to residents of the Galați area, next door to Tulcea.
Galați sits close to Moldovan territory. Moldova's government said the first drone violating its airspace was picked up close to Vulcănești, a town bordering Ukraine, before heading to Colibași, north of Galați.
Five more drones were detected across the country, and one of the UAVs fell on the roof of a residential home in northern Moldova, Chișinău said.
At least six people were killed and another 14 injured in overnight strikes on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, according to Ukrainian authorities. Moscow also struck the central Dnipro and Cherkasy regions of Ukraine, the northern Chernihiv and Kharkiv regions, and Odesa, which borders Romania.
Russia struck ports and infrastructure in the Odesa region, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Six people, including two children, were injured in Odesa during a "massive attack by enemy drones" that damaged energy and port facilities, Odesa's regional governor, Oleh Kiper, said early on Tuesday.
Moscow launched more than 460 drones, many of which were Iranian-designed Shahed attack drones, and 22 missiles of different types overnight, Ukraine's air force said. Among the mix were four of Russia's hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, the military said.
What People Are Saying
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: "The main targets are energy and everything that ensures normal life."
Moldova's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday: "We urge citizens to report any unauthorized objects they observe and not to touch any objects that have fallen to the ground, but to inform the authorities."
Update 11/25/25, 4:32 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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