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Fox News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
NATO member scrambles jets after Russian drone attack, as Witkoff meets with Putin
Romania was forced to scramble F-16 jets after Russia carried out a strike just half a mile from the NATO nation's territory. The country's Ministry of National Defense (MApN) confirmed in a post on X that Russia carried out a drone attack near its border. "On the night of August 5-6, the Russian forces launched a massive drone attack on the civilian infrastructure in the Ismail area, Ukraine, in the vicinity of the border with Romania," Romania's defense ministry wrote in a post on X. "The radar systems of the MApN detected air targets in Ukrainian space, close to Tulcea County. At 1:10a.m., the population in the north of the county was warned via RO-Alert," the ministry added. RO-Alert is Romania's official emergency warning system. The defense ministry stated that two F-16 fighter jets took off "to monitor the national airspace," but no "unauthorized intrusions" were detected. The ministry said it would carry out checks in the area and keep NATO allies updated in real time. The drones reportedly struck oil and gas pipelines at the Orlivka plant in Odesa, Ukraine. Bright orange flames and plumes of smoke were visible across the Danube River. Nearby Lithuania has also suffered from Russia's war on Ukraine. Drones from Putin ally Belarus crossed into its territory, according to Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kęstutis Budrys, who said he spoke with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. "These repeated incidents represent an alarming sign of the spillover of Russia's aggression against [Ukraine] onto [NATO territory]," Budrys said of the incident. "We cannot compromise the security of our country and citizens, nor the integrity of NATO airspace. We must remain vigilant, as the threat is real and growing." This attack could signal that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not moving closer to reaching a ceasefire deal, despite President Donald Trump's Friday deadline. It's unclear whether Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's visit will push the Russian leader to move toward peace. However, if Moscow fails to make a deal by Friday, the U.S. will impose sanctions on Russia and potentially secondary tariffs. Trump is reportedly putting pressure on Witkoff's visit. One person close to the administration told the Financial Times that "if Witkoff comes back empty-handed, with absolutely nothing, Trump is going to go ballistic." Witkoff reportedly spent about three hours at the Kremlin and, according to Russian investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev, the "dialogue will prevail," Reuters reported. Before setting the deadline, Trump reportedly spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about securing a deal that would end the brutal war more than three years after Russia's invasion. Zelenskyy later confirmed the conversation took place, saying that the "key focus" was ending the war. "Today, we coordinated our positions – Ukraine and the United States. We exchanged assessments of the situation: The Russians have intensified the brutality of their attacks. President Trump is fully informed about Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities and communities," Zelenskyy wrote on X.
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
NATO state Romania forced to scramble F-16 war planes due to Putin drone strike
The NATO member was forced to scramble planes following an onslaught that was so intense it caused an explosion visible from a river across the Romanian-Ukraine border NATO was forced to scramble F-16 war planes after Vladimir Putin launched an attack on Ukraine that caused explosive nearly border-hopping damage. The Russian despot's forces bombed a gas compressor station only half a mile from NATO member Romania's territory last night, causing a giant fireball to surge into the skies that was visible across the Danube River. The drone strike obliterated oil and gas pipelines at the Orlivka plant in Odesa. Dramatic photos showed the orange flames lighting up the night and reflecting off the waters of the Danube as Romanian authorities scrambled two F-16 warplanes. It comes after NATO scrambled warplanes as Russia shoots down West's F-16 fighter jet in Ukraine onslaught. The Romanian Ministry of National Defense (MApN) confirmed the "massive" attack took place near the Romanian border, with its radar systems detecting the attacks and warning residents early in the morning at around 1.10am. A spokesperson for the ministry condemned what they said were Putin's "aggressive and unjustified actions", adding they "defy international law and endanger regional security". They said: "On the night of August 5-6, Russian forces launched a massive drone attack on civilian infrastructure in the Ismail area, Ukraine, near the Romanian border." "The radar systems of the MApN detected air targets in Ukrainian space, close to Tulcea County. At 01:10, the population in the north of the county was warned via RO-Alert [the country's official emergency warning system]. "Two Romanian F-16 fighter jets took off to monitor the national airspace, without any unauthorised intrusions being detected. The MApN will carry out checks in the area, and NATO allies are informed in real time. The Ministry of National Defence firmly condemns these aggressive and unjustified actions of the Russian Federation, which flagrantly defy international law and endanger regional security.' The move to scramble the jets comes not long after NATO was forced to respond to a Russian attack in which 500 missiles were used to down an F-16 fighter jet. A Ukrainian F-16 supersonic fighter, which was supplied to the country's fighting forces by western allies, was shot down last week in an attack that resulted in the loss of "hero" pilot Lt-Col Maksym Ustimenko. The pilot, who was born in 1993, managed to shoot down seven air targets using all his weapons before he was hit. Poland's operational command announced that NATO fighters were scrambled because of the intensity of Russian onslaught on Ukraine.
