airspace incident: Ciușlea, Vrancea County (possibly via Moldovan airspace, heading towards Târgu Bujor) (2026-08-24)

What happened

The Moldovan army detected a drone entering from the direction of Vynohradivka; the object headed towards Vulcănești, airspace over southern Moldova was closed for 15 minutes, and at 06:09 the drone flew on towards Vlădești in Galați County. At about 06:00 Romanian systems detected an object near the border, at 06:12 the public was alerted, and the drone crashed into a walnut tree 5 m from a house in the village of Ciușlea in Vrancea County; an area of 300 m was evacuated until it was confirmed that the drone carried no explosives. Two Romanian F-16s and an IAR-330 SOCAT were scrambled, and the alert ended at 08:52.

Responsibility and limits of the evidence

not assessed

Nobody has yet assessed responsibility for this record. Not assessed is not the same as not established.

Impact

killed

0

injured

0

damage

not established

None; area evacuated as a precaution

reported (number not established)

Sources

1. Naruszenia przestrzeni powietrznej nieobjętej działaniami wojennymi podczas wojny rosyjsko-ukraińskiej

   pl.wikipedia.org / secondary source

   supports: the record, the disruption

2. Violations of non-combatant airspace during the Russo-Ukrainian war (2022-present)

   en.wikipedia.org / secondary source

   supports: the record, the disruption