F-16 fighter jets, raised from the ground by Romania during the Russian attack. “Mission Commander had prior approval to engage aerial targets”

The Ministry of Defense announced that approximately 10 explosions were reported on the Ukrainian bank of the Danube, but no drone penetration into the national airspace was detected. The mission commander had “prior approval for the engagement of aerial targets”, stated the Ministry of Defense.

According to the quoted source, the population of the north of Tulcea county received, on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, October 21 to 22, around 01:00, an RO-Alert message due to the drone attack carried out by the Russian Federation on the Ukrainian port infrastructure on the Danube.

The surveillance systems of the Ministry of National Defense detected in time a group of aerial targets moving towards the area of ​​the Chilia arm and the Danube Delta.

“According to the procedures, two F-16 aircraft from the 86th Borcea Air Base took off, around 00:50, to investigate the situation. About 10 explosions were reported on the Ukrainian coast, in the area of ​​Ismail and Chilia, but no penetration of unmanned aerial vehicles into Romanian airspace was detected. The mission commander had prior approval to engage the targets airspace, if they penetrated the national airspace and endangered the security of Romanian citizens. At around 02.35, two German Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft took off from the 57 Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, to carry out Reinforced Air Police missions”, MApN reported.

The message to end the air alert for the population in the north of Tulcea county was sent around 03:00, and the aircraft returned safely to the air bases, around 03:00 and 03:50, respectively, according to the Ministry of National Defense.

Specialists will look for possible drones that fell on the Romanian bank of the Danube

A team made up of MApN, MAi, and SRI specialists will go on Wednesday on a research mission to the area on the Romanian bank of the Danube, in the vicinity of the Ukrainian towns attacked last night, to assess the situation.

MApN strongly condemned the “irresponsible actions of the Russian Federation” and emphasized that they represent “a new challenge to regional security and stability in the Black Sea area”.

“Such incidents demonstrate the Russian Federation's lack of respect for the norms of international law and endanger not only the safety of Romanian citizens, but also the collective security of NATO,” MApN said.

Russian attack near the border

The head of the military administration for the Odesa region, Oleg Kipper, announced on Wednesday morning on the Telegram channel that the Russians launched a massive attack on the civilian infrastructure in the region located on the Black Sea and on the border with Romania.

According to the Ukrainian official, following the attacks by combat drones in the city of Ismail, energy and port infrastructure were damaged and fires broke out.

“Fortunately, there were no casualties from the bombing. Power to the city is gradually being restored, critical infrastructure is running on generators,” Kipper said.

The official said around 8:40 a.m. that there was still an air alert in effect in the region.

F-16 fighter jets were lifted off the ground by Romania during the Russian attack targeting the Odesa region. “The mission commander had prior approval for the engagement of aerial targets,” MApN said.

Kiev and other Ukrainian cities were targeted by a massive overnight attack. At least two people died and several were injured in the Ukrainian capital, according to Mayor Vitali Kliciko.