Ukrainian Air Force planes invaded Romania, fleeing from a Russian strike

Four Ukrainian military aircraft on the night of July 20-21 (around 03:00) violated Romanian airspace in the Maramures-Suceava zone, moving away from a Russian missile strike on Western Ukraine. This was reported by the military department of Bucharest.

Two Romanian F-16 fighter jets and two Eurofighter Typhoon fighters of the Italian Air Force were alerted in the air to monitor the area.

"During the operations conducted between 03:30 and 06:00, 12 Ukrainian air targets were detected moving in the airspace of Ukraine, north of the border with Romania. Four of them unintentionally entered the airspace of our country for a few minutes in the areas of Sighet Marmati and Vicova de Sus, without posing a real threat to national security, human lives or Romanian property," the Romanian defense ministry said in a statement.

The Ministry of National Defense stated that it constantly monitors national and regional airspace in close cooperation with NATO allies "to ensure the security and territorial integrity of the country."

"Romania also takes an active part in the efforts of the allies to deter aggression and protect the territory and population of the alliance in accordance with international obligations," Bucharest concluded.

The Ukrainian authorities have confirmed that measures have been taken to "disperse" military aircraft from airfields in western Ukraine as a result of massive attacks by the Russian army on the infrastructure of Ukrainian airports.

Earlier, Bucharest several times announced a violation of its airspace allegedly by Russia. The Romanian Air Force lifted its aircraft into the air due to unidentified aerial objects, but in all cases, NATO interceptors lost targets without confirming visual contact at any point in the trajectory.