RENI — Two Royal Air Force Typhoon jets were scrambled from a Romanian air base at 2 a.m. on Saturday to intercept Russian drones operating close to NATO airspace near Reni, Ukraine. The aircraft did not open fire because the drones remained within Ukrainian airspace, and the jets did not enter Ukrainian airspace at any point during the mission.

Romanian officials said the Typhoons took off in response to a possible Russian drone threat and that the pilots established radar contact with the targets and had authorization to engage if necessary. A spokesperson from the Romanian defense ministry said the pilots had authorization to engage the drones if they breached Romanian airspace.

The spokesperson said ground-based radar systems tracked multiple aerial targets approaching the area near Reni, where explosions were subsequently reported. Contact with the drones was lost after the moment when the explosions were reported, the spokesperson said.

Approximately half an hour after contact with the drones was lost, residents of Galați reported the fall of an object on the outskirts of the town through emergency service 112, according to the spokesperson. Allied aircraft maintained a defensive posture to enhance situational awareness and protect NATO airspace, the spokesperson added.

British defense sources contradicted reports that Russian drones had been shot down by the RAF in Ukrainian airspace. The Typhoons are based in Romania as part of a rotating multinational NATO air mission to protect eastern European countries from Russian drone incursions that might spill over from the war in Ukraine.