A NATO member scrambled F-16 fighter jets amid claims Russia violated the airspace of two members of the military alliance while launching drone attacks on Ukraine over the weekend.
As tensions between the Western military alliance and Russia remain high, Romania’s Ministry of National Defence claimed a Russian drone entered Romanian territory on Sunday morning. It came as Moscow was alleged to have struck “civilian targets and port infrastructure” across the Danube river, in Ukraine.
The Romanian defence ministry said it deployed F-16 fighter jets to “monitor its airspace”. The ministry said NATO was kept informed of the situation as it unfolded.
Text alerts were also issued to residents in two Romanian regions that are close to the Danube and the Ukraine border. It’s believed the drones may have created an “impact zone” in an uninhabited area near the Romanian village of Periprava. A full investigation is now underway, said the defence ministry.
This came just hours after a Russian drone reportedly fell in Latvia, near the town of Rezekne, on Saturday.
Latvia’s Defence Minister Andris Spruds said it is thought the drone had come from its neighbour, Belarus – one of Putin’s few allies in the region.
In a recent column for the Express, entrepreneur and journalist Jonathan Saxty argued that we are “certain” to see a world war “within the decade” that will “rival… previous global conflicts”.
He said three flashpoints could set the world alight – Russia–Ukraine in Europe, Israel-Palestine in the Middle East, and China-Taiwan in Asia.
“I have long said the implications of the latter are the greatest since they involve the strategic interests of the US, which can never afford to let Taiwan fall to China and risk the waterways of Asia coming under Beijing’s control,” added Saxty.
Last month, Lai Ching-te – President of Taiwan – warned of a Chinese invasion of his island. He said this attack on democracy would have a bigger impact on the planet than either the war in Ukraine or the Covid pandemic.