During the night of July 21, Romanian and Italian fighter jets took off in response to Russian airstrikes on Ukraine.
This was reported in a statement by Romania’s Ministry of National Defense (MoND), as cited by Ukrinform.
According to the statement, around 3:00 on July 21, Romania’s radar surveillance systems signalled air targets that evolved on different flight paths in the Ukrainian airspace, north of the border with Romania, near Maramureș – Suceava area.
At approximately 3:30, two Romanian F-16 jets took off from the 86th Borcea Air Base to conduct aerial reconnaissance. Then, at around 05:00, an order was given for the take-off of two Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft that conduct Air Policing Missions at the 57th Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base.
The Romanian MoND noted that Ukrainian authorities confirmed they had taken measures to disperse military aircraft from the airfields in western Ukraine, following Russian massive attacks on the Ukrainian airport infrastructure.
“During the operations conducted between 03:30 and 06:00, MoND detected 12 Ukrainian air targets that evolved in the Ukrainian airspace, north of the border with Romania. Four of these unintentionally entered, for a few minutes, our country’s airspace, in Sighetu Marmației and Vicovu de Sus areas, without posing a real danger to national security, the lives of individuals or Romanian state,” the statement reads.
The Romanian F-16s landed back at Borcea Air Base at around 6:00, while the Italian Eurofighter returned to Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base at around 7:00 a.m.
Due to the danger posed by Russian attacks in western Ukraine, Poland also scrambled its air force, according to Polish Radio, citing the Operational Command of Poland’s Armed Forces. Polish officials stated that these measures were preventive in nature, aimed at ensuring public safety and defending national borders.
As Ukrinform previously reported, overnight on July 21, Russian forces launched a massive drone and missile assault at Ukraine, triggering air raid alerts across Kyiv and all Ukrainian regions.
Photo: Facebook / Ministerul Apărării Naționale, Romania
Source: Fighter jets scrambled in Romania, Poland amid overnight Russian attack on Ukraine
