British jets intercept Russian drones

Two RAF Typhoons have been scrambled from a Romanian air base to engage Russian drones close to Nato airspace, although they did not open fire.

British defence sources said the fighter jets did not enter Ukrainian airspace, contradicting reports that Russian drones had been shot down by the RAF there, an event which would have represented a major escalation in hostilities between the western alliance and Moscow, The Guardian reports.

Romanian officials report­ed the Typhoons took off at 2am on Saturday in response to the drone threat, established radar contact on the targets and had authorisation to engage if necessary. A shooting down of Russian drones inside Ukraine would be significant as it is not a Nato member and the west has consistently refused to police its skies to avoid a dire­ct confrontation with Russia.

The Typhoons are based in Romania as part of a rotating multinational Nato air missi­on to protect eastern Euro­pean nations from Russian drone incursions that might spill over from the war in Ukraine. RAF Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft operated strictly within Romanian airspace in accordance with the national and allied rules of engagement, officials said, and did not enter Ukrainian airspace at any point.

A spokesperson from the Romanian defence ministry said the pilots had received authorisation to engage the drones if they were to breach Romanian airspace, which they did not. The mission remained one of surveillance, deterrence and readiness to respond if required.