Russia launched a massive attack on the Odesa region during the night of September 24. Against this backdrop, Romania scrambled two F-16 fighter jets and two Spanish F-18s, while Moldova closed its airspace in the north of the country because of drones flying overhead. UNN reports this, citing data from Odesa Regional Military Administration head Oleh Kiper and the defense ministries of both neighboring countries.
What are the consequences in the Odesa region
This night, Russia carried out a massive combined attack on civilian infrastructure in the Odesa region. A hospital, a gymnasium, residential buildings, a shopping center, warehouses, and other civilian facilities came under attack. Two people were injured
According to him, as a result of the attack:
- a 10-story non-residential building was damaged;
- the shopping center that had previously been attacked was damaged;
- the roof of a municipal hospital department and food warehouses were damaged;
- the windows of the gymnasium and residential buildings were shattered, and cars were damaged.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine showed the consequences of Russia's massive attack on the Odesa region.
Romania scrambled fighter jets
"On the morning of Thursday, September 24, the radar surveillance system of the Ministry of National Defense detected an aerial target moving over Ukrainian territory near the border with Romania, in the northern part of Botoșani County," Romania's Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
Two Romanian Air Force F-16 aircraft, which are on combat air-policing duty, took off from the 86th Air Base in Borcea to monitor the situation. According to radar signals, the aerial target entered national airspace through the northern part of Botoșani County
Measures were taken to alert the population in Botoșani and Suceava counties, and at 06:26 an RO-Alert message was issued.
The aerial target remained in national airspace for approximately four minutes, after which it crashed near the town of Solca, Suceava County, without casualties or material damage. Response teams from the Ministry of Internal Affairs arrived at the scene, secured the perimeter, and identified a small unmanned aerial vehicle; there was no fire at the crash site
At 07:21, an IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter took off from the 95th Air Base in Bacău, Romania, to monitor the situation in the area, according to the statement.
"Also, during the night of September 23-24, a group of aerial targets was detected north of the village of Kiliya-Veke, on the territory of Ukraine, near the border with Romania," the statement said.
Two F-18 aircraft of the Spanish Air and Space Force, which are part of the enhanced air-policing combat duty, took off from the Mihail Kogălniceanu 57th Air Base to monitor the situation
At 04:41, an RO-Alert message was issued for residents of the northern part of Tulcea County. The air raid alert for the northern part of Tulcea County ended at 05:44.
Moldova closed part of its airspace
Moldova's defense authorities reported, "in the context of the Russian Federation's massive attacks on Ukraine," the "detection of an unauthorized flight through the national airspace by an unmanned aerial vehicle, which entered the airspace of the Republic of Moldova at 06:14 (...) and crossed the state border." "At 06:16, the aerial object left the national airspace," the statement said.
In addition, "today, at 5:21, a patrol of the border police of the Republic of Moldova observed another unidentified object. (...) It later left the national airspace."
Later, Moldova's defense authorities also stated that "another object crossed the national airspace at 6:35, (...) and at 6:45 it was observed by citizens."
The country's Air Operations Service also reported "another drone that flew through the airspace at 06:58. (...) At 07:11, the object disappeared from monitoring systems in the vicinity of the village of Cunicea."
"For security reasons, the airspace of the Republic of Moldova in the northern part has been closed," the statement said.
"At 7:46, the airspace in the north was reopened," the country's defense authorities said.