A Russian drone reportedly entered the national airspace of NATO member Romania for a brief duration of less than three minutes during an overnight assault on Ukraine, according to the Romanian defense ministry on Friday.

The drone strike targeted the southern Ukrainian town of Izmail, located just across the Danube River from Romania, resulting in three fatalities and 14 injuries, as confirmed by Odesa regional prosecutors. The Ukrainian air force reported that it successfully intercepted 24 out of 32 drones involved in the attack.

The Romanian ministry stated that its radar system detected the potential incursion of one of the drones into Romanian airspace for a short period in the border region.

In response, Romania deployed two F-16 fighter jets along with two Spanish F-18s, which are currently engaged in air policing operations within the country for the remainder of the year. Residents in the southeastern Romanian county of Tulcea were advised to seek shelter.

Romania has a 650-kilometer (400-mile) border with Ukraine and has experienced multiple incidents of Russian drone debris landing within its territory over the past year, primarily as a result of Ukrainian air defense operations, according to the Romanian defense ministry.

On September 8, both Romania and Latvia reported incursions into their airspace by Russian drones, raising concerns about potential escalation. This month, defense ministers from NATO’s eastern flank nations urged a strong, coordinated response from the alliance to address these drone incursions, advocating for the establishment of a rotational integrated air and missile defense (IAMD) model.