A Romanian F-16 fighter jet shot down a drone that breached the country's airspace on Friday morning, president Nicusor Dan said, as cited by Reuters.
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The development comes a day after a sailor injured in a fire aboard a Ukraine-bound tanker off Romania's Black Sea coast died, according to Romanian media. Authorities are investigating whether the incident was linked to Russia's war against Ukraine.
On Thursday, a Romanian news outlet reported that the deceased was a 45-year-old Philippine national who had been injured in the blaze.
The Liberian-flagged tanker Gas Lisbon was sailing across the Black Sea towards a Ukrainian port when it was "struck" late on Monday, about 20 nautical miles off Romania's coast, President Nicusor Dan said on Tuesday.
Romanian authorities responded to the incident and evacuated all 17 crew members, including three injured sailors. According to Romania's Department for Emergency Situations, two of the injured sustained burns over approximately 10–15 per cent of their bodies, while the third suffered multiple injuries.
Romania and other Nato member states have witnessed multiple drone incursions linked to the Russia-Ukraine war since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
In June, a Ukrainian maritime drone being used in the conflict exploded at the Black Sea port of Constanta, while three other sea drones detonated outside the port. No injuries were reported.
A month earlier, a Russian drone involved in an attack on Ukraine veered off course and struck an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people.
