RAF Downs Russian Drones Over Ukraine in Historic NATO Action as Russia Launches Massive Overnight Attack

Gate News message, April 25 — British Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons scrambled from Romania shot down Russian drones over Ukrainian territory early Saturday morning (April 25), marking the first time NATO jets have engaged Russian aircraft within Ukraine’s airspace. The two aircraft took off at 02:00 from the 86th Air Base in Fetești and established radar contact with targets approximately 1.5 kilometers from Reni, above Ukrainian territory, with authorization to engage.

The strikes came as Russian forces launched a massive overnight assault on Ukraine, deploying 47 missiles (30 intercepted) and 619 drones (580 shot down or neutralized). Russia targeted civilian and infrastructure sites near the Danube River border with Romania, including ports and populated areas. A four-story apartment building in Dnipro was destroyed, killing at least two people and injuring over 20, with fears that five more may be trapped under rubble. Multiple explosions were reported across Dnipro, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Kyiv, and Cherkasy.

In response, Ukrainian drones launched unprecedented long-range counterattacks, flying over 1,100 miles to strike major Russian cities in the Ural Mountains. Targets included Yekaterinburg, where Liutyi drones struck an elite high-rise tower, injuring at least six people and forcing evacuation of over 50 residents, and Chelyabinsk, where Ukrainian drones targeted the Higher Military Aviation School of Navigation and reportedly struck near the strategically important Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant.