On Saturday, new fragments of a drone similar to those used by the Russian army were found in Romania, the Ministry of Defense in Bucharest reported. President Klaus Iohannis said that he had talked to NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on this matter. This is the second time this week that the Romanian authorities confirm the discovery of parts of a drone similar to Russian drones on their territory.
On Saturday, the Romanian Ministry of Defense announced that fragments of a drone similar to those used by the Russian military had been found in the country.
President Klaus Iohannis announced on social media – both on Facebook and the X platform – that he had discussed this matter with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “We discussed the identification by the Romanian authorities of new drone fragments in our territory, similar to those belonging to drones used by the Russian military,” he wrote.
“I strongly condemned this violation of our sovereign airspace, which poses a threat to Romanian citizens in the area. The NATO Secretary General expressed the full solidarity of the Alliance and Allies with Romaniawhich is fully protected and benefits from the highest security guarantees in history,” he added.
He also posted the statement on Facebook, providing some more details. He wrote that “new drone fragments similar to those used by the Russian army” were found “near the border with Ukraine” He said that “this indicates that there has been an absolutely unacceptable violation of Romania’s sovereign airspace.”
“I strongly condemn this incident caused by Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports from the Danube,” he added.
The fragments will be analyzed
The military said the Romanian navy dispatched search teams after local authorities alerted them to suspicious drone fragments discovered about 2.5 kilometers southeast of the village of Plauru, located across the Danube from the Ukrainian port of Izmail.
The statement said the army had secured the area and the fragments would be analyzed.
Parts of the drone in Romanian territory were also found earlier
As Reuters wrote, the found remains are fragments of the second drone that crashed in Romania this week.
Earlier on Monday Kiev reported that Russian drones struck the country’s territory. It allegedly happened during the shelling of the Ukrainian port of Izmail on the Danube, near the border with Romania. Officials initially denied this, but on Wednesday, Defense Minister Angel Tilvar told CNN’s Antenna 3 confirmed that “parts that may be parts of the drone have been found”.
He added that residents of the area were not evacuated because “there is no reason to assume that these elements pose any threat.” The minister said that the parts will be examined to determine their origin.
In a statement issued on Wednesday NATO countries expressed “strong solidarity” with Romania. We continue to monitor the situation closely and remain in close contact with our ally Romania.
State Department USA announced earlier this week that it would send additional American F-16 fighters to strengthen the NATO mission to patrol the airspace over Romania.
Main photo source: Reuters