Romanian F-16 fighter jets were scrambled from Fetești Air Base on Saturday afternoon to intercept a Russian drone that entered Romanian airspace during a Russian attack on Ukrainian infrastructure along the Danube River, according to earlier reports and new information. The drone penetrated approximately 10 kilometers into Romanian airspace and operated there for about 50 minutes, prompting authorities in Tulcea County to issue a RO-ALERT message warning of potential falling objects. The drone was eventually tracked approximately 20 km southwest of Chilia Veche, where it crashed after being monitored by the Romanian Air Force. The Romanian Ministry of Defense confirmed that Russian drones entering Romanian airspace would be shot down, emphasizing continuous linkage with the NATO command center. This incident occurred while Ukraine reported widespread air raid alerts across large areas, including the Dnieper region, with threats of drone and ballistic missile attacks originating from Crimea. Earlier in the day, Poland had issued air raid warnings in six poviats of its Lubelskie Voivodeship due to aerial attack threats, concluding allied aviation operations by 4:46 PM UTC. Separately, satellite images from September 13th, 08:23 UTC, showed four Tu-95MS (Bear-H), one Tu-160 (Blackjack), and five Su-34 (Fullback) aircraft at Russia's Engels-2 Air Base. During the night, two Tu-95MS were relocated to Engels-2 Air Base, and by Saturday morning, three Tu-95MS from Engels-2 were airborne and being relocated to the Russian Far East. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the calculated routes of Russian drones indicate an "obvious expansion of the war by Russia." The WSJ reported that since President Donald Trump took office, Russia has significantly increased its aerial attacks against Ukraine, launching 6,300 drones in July 2025 alone, a substantial rise from 426 a year prior.
