Smoke rises from missiles launched by Russia, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on August 20, 2026.[AFP]
A Romanian F-16 fighter jet on Thursday destroyed a marine drone near an offshore gas project, with Romania's president blaming Russia for the latest incident involving the NATO member bordering Ukraine.
Unauthorised drone activity has become increasingly frequent in recent months across eastern European countries as Ukraine fights off a Russian invasion launched in 2022, with both countries increasingly relying on drone warfare.
In the latest incident, the drone that was destroyed was "loaded with explosives" and did not originate from Ukraine, defence minister Radu Miruta said on Facebook.
"I strongly condemn the escalation of such irresponsible incidents on the part of the Russian Federation," Romanian president Nicusor Dan said on X.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen also slammed "an escalating campaign of threats" against the bloc, "unsettling our citizens and seeking to divide our Union".
"This is hybrid warfare," she wrote on X.
The drone was spotted at 6:28 am local time (0328 GMT) by a commercial vessel, hundreds of metres from the offshore gas project Neptun Deep and 80 nautical miles east of the Black Sea city of Constanta, according to a press release from the defence ministry.