Romania, Belarus scramble jets amid mass Russian drone attack on Ukraine

Ukraine's Air Force said on Oct. 18 it had shot down 80 out of 135 Russian drones launched at the country overnight.

Amid the mass attack, Romania's Defense Ministry said it had scrambled jets as an unidentified aerial object approached, and then entered its territory before radar lost track of it near the town of Amzacea, some 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of the Ukrainian border.

Both the Ukrainian Air Force and the Belarusian monitoring group Hajun said two drones had flown toward the Belarusian border. Hajun said Belarusian jets had been scrambled in response.

The Air Force said beyond the 80 drones that were shot down across the country, another 44 were "lost," possibly downed by means of electronic warfare.

There were no reports of possible damage caused by falling debris or potential successful hits.

It was not the first time that Romanian and Bulgarian jets have been scrambled amid Russian attacks on Ukraine.

Debris from Russian missiles and drones have also been found in the territory of neighboring countries on numerous occasions.

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The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk