Romania's defence ministry said its radars picked up two air targets near Snake Island in the Black Sea. On Sunday afternoon, 8 November, two Spanish F-18 fighter jets and two NH-90 military helicopters took off from the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in Constanta county.
Radars spotted the first target about 30 km east of the island, in Ukrainian airspace. Soon after, it dropped off the radar east of Sulina, a town at the mouth of the Danube.
Spanish air force jets took off to track it. They are based in Romania and patrol the airspace as part of a NATO mission. Their task was to monitor the situation.
The second target was about 55 km west of Snake Island. Both NH-90 helicopters of the Spanish armed forces took off from the same 57th air base because of it.
The ministry has not said what the objects were and has not officially confirmed whether they were drones. The authorities have not reported that any of the targets entered Romanian airspace, or any damage or injuries.
The National Military Command Centre told the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations so that people in the east of Tulcea county could be warned. The first RO-Alert message went out at 14:02. Local time in Romania is the same as in Bulgaria.
The message reached only the east of the county, the "Delta" Emergency Situations Inspectorate in Tulcea said. No one has called 112 since, it said.
The air raid alert ended at 15:26.
Soon after, the centre again alerted the inspectorate, this time about an air target heading for northern Romania. At 16:53, the inspectorate in Tulcea said it had just sent a new warning for the north of the county. The text reads: "air raid alert – possible drone incursion".
People were urged to stay calm and take shelter in cellars or civil defence shelters. Those without a shelter should stay in their homes, away from windows and outer walls.