Published on •Updated
A border crossing with Moldova in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region was damaged by Russian drones overnight, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said in a statement on Friday morning.
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Traffic through the Tabaky checkpoint has been suspended and diverted to other crossings, the border service said on Telegram.
Moldovan authorities in Chișinău have been informed, the statement added.
The announcement comes a day after a Romanian F-16 fighter jet destroyed an explosive-laden maritime drone close to Europe’s largest offshore gas project, hours after another drone entered the NATO member’s airspace and crashed near the Ukrainian border.
Romania’s President Nicuşor Dan blamed Russia for the latest incident and condemned what he called an escalation of “irresponsible incidents” by Moscow.
Two Romanian F-16 fighter jets were scrambled and one destroyed the drone after authorities decided it posed a potential threat to the hundreds of people working at the site and to critical energy infrastructure.
Defence Minister Radu Miruță said the drone was carrying explosives and that Kyiv had confirmed it was not Ukrainian.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the incident as part of “an escalating campaign of threats” against the European Union.
“This is hybrid warfare,” she said, accusing those responsible of seeking to unsettle European citizens and divide the bloc.
High alert
Europe as a whole is on high alert after drone flyovers into NATO airspace reached an unprecedented scale last September, prompting European leaders to agree to develop a “drone wall” along their borders to better detect, track and intercept drones violating Europe’s airspace.
In November, NATO military officials said a new US anti-drone system had been deployed to the alliance’s eastern flank.
And following a violation of Polish airspace, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced the formation of the Eastern Sentry programme, which aims to deter further Russian incursions.
Some European officials described the incidents as Moscow testing NATO’s response, which raised questions about how prepared the alliance is against potential threats from Russia.
The Kremlin has dismissed allegations that Russia is behind some of the unidentified drone flights in Europe as “unfounded.”
Additional sources • AP, AFP
