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NATO scrambles fighter jets following Russian attack amid new fears of a wider conflict
Published 10:27 20 Aug 2026 BST
Updated 10:27 20 Aug 2026 BST
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The drone crashed in a NATO country
After a drone entered the airspace of Romania and following a wave of brutal overnight strikes on Ukraine, NATO scrambled fighter jets, as revealed by Romania's defence ministry.
The ministry of the NATO member nation said that its radar system detected a group of aerial targets near the country's border with Ukraine.
The incident is reported to have happened at 2.23am local time.
To monitor the situation, NATO scrambled two Spanish F-18 fighter jets, while a Romanian air force helicopter was deployed to conduct reconnaissance.
As per the ministry, a UAV entered the country's airspace in the early hours of Thursday, local time, around 13 kilometres east of the city of Galați.
The drone crashed in an uninhabited area of Tulcea County and a fire erupted at the scene, while no casualties were reported.
Whether the drone was Russian or Ukrainian or if it may have strayed unintentionally into Romanian airspace remains unclear.
At least six killed in latest Russian attacks
The latest comes as overnight, a Russian missile barrage killed at least six people in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital.
As per local authorities, explosions echoes across the city throughout the night.
In the attack, at least 33 people were wounded, Ukraine's Emergency Service said.
At least 33 people were wounded in the attack, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Service, with an air raid alert remaining active into the early morning hours of Thursday.
The possibility of a wider conflict amid the fresh Russian attacks
Back in February, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the BBC that Putin had already started World War Three with his invasion of Ukraine.
The question now, Zelenskyy said, was how much territory he would be able to seize.
But while allies like the UK have provided support in the form of funding and military kit, European nations haven't been drawn into direct conflict with Russia.
Recently, in the past few weeks Ukraine also stepped up attacks deep inside Russia, in an attempt to put pressure on Russia's economy.
