France temporarily sends maritime patrol plane to Black Sea after cargo ship attacks

France has temporarily relocated a ​maritime patrol aircraft to ​Romania to help identify navigation ‌dangers and ​bolster the protection of critical energy infrastructure in the Black Sea, Romania's defence ministry ‌said on Tuesday. At least eight cargo ships have been hit near the coast of NATO members Romania and Bulgaria in the past three weeks, ‌with some 34 sailors reported dead or missing.

Romanian F-16 fighter jet ‌pilots shot down two of the latest generation of Russian drones over Romanian territorial waters earlier this month, and NATO said it will send more maritime patrol ⁠aircraft, radar ​systems and ⁠drones to the Black Sea.