UPDATE 22:15 Minister of Defense: It was not shot down

Defense Minister Ionuț Moșteanu provided details about the actions taken after a drone entered Romanian airspace. He stated that the final report of the mission is currently awaited.

"It wasn't shot down, no. The radars intercepted it and saw it coming towards our airspace. The planes took off and saw it and were very close to shooting it down. The drone, flying very low at one point, left for Ukraine. This is the information we have at this moment," Moșteanu said on Saturday, on Antena 3 CNN.

The official also stated that German planes were also involved in Saturday's mission to monitor the situation:"They basically replaced them in the airspace because the planes have a limited flight period and when the F-16s were approaching the end of this period, the Eurofighters of the German allies took off."

UPDATE 20:45 Zelensky: the drone penetrated 10 kilometers into Romanian territory and flew for 50 minutes in NATO airspace

Volodymyr Zelensky reacted to the entry of a drone into Romanian airspace. He noted that a Russian drone entered approximately 10 kilometers into Romanian airspace and flew for almost 50 minutes in the NATO area.

"Today, Romania scrambled fighter jets because of a Russian drone in its airspace. According to current information, the drone penetrated approximately 10 kilometers into Romanian territory and operated in NATO airspace for approximately 50 minutes," the Ukrainian president said on X.

Zelensky also stressed that the act is intentional by the Russian authorities."The Russian military knows exactly where its drones are going and how long they can operate in the air. Their routes are always calculated. This cannot be a coincidence, a mistake, or the initiative of some lower-level commanders. This is a clear extension of the war on the part of Russia - and that is exactly how it acts. Small steps at first, and, in the end, big losses," the Ukrainian leader notes.

UPDATE 20:30: A few minutes ago, a new RO-Alert message was sent for the northern area of Tulcea county, informing the population about the possibility of objects falling from Romanian airspace.

UPDATE 20:00 Moșteanu: The Air Force intercepted a Russian drone that entered national airspace

"Brief information. The Romanian Air Force intercepted today, September 13, a Russian drone that entered national airspace. Two F-16 aircraft were urgently scrambled from Base 86 Fetești and tracked the drone until it disappeared from radar, in the Chilia Veche area," wrote Ionuț Moșteanu on his Facebook page.

The minister stressed that "the situation was constantly monitored, and the population was not in danger."

UPDATE 19:30: The Ministry of Defense reports that two F-16 fighter jets from the 86th Air Base in Fetești took off on Saturday at 18:05 to monitor the air situation on the border with Ukraine, following Russian air attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure on the Danube.

"At 18:12, the RO-Alert message was issued for the population in northern Tulcea county, and at 18:23, F 16 aircraft detected a drone in national airspace, which they tracked to approximately 20 km SW of Chilia Veche, when it disappeared from radar," MApN reported.

"The drone did not fly over inhabited areas and did not pose an imminent danger to the security of the population. At the time of issuing the statement, the situation is being monitored by the radar systems of the Ministry of Defense and aircraft in the air," the Ministry of Defense added.

Original news: "A short time ago, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations sent an RO-Alert message for the northern area of Tulcea county, informing citizens that there was a possibility of objects falling from the airspace and urging them to adopt protective measures," the information issued by IGSU states.

According to her, the estimated duration of the air alert is approximately 90 minutes.

IGSU stated that the territory of Romania is not a target of attacks by the Russian Federation and recommended that citizens respect the safety measures transmitted by the authorities and follow the instructions issued through the RO-Alert system.

The population is advised to report to 112 any situation that may endanger their safety.