Romania scouts drone debris at Ukraine border after explosion reports

BUCHAREST, Romania: NATO member Romania’s military on Wednesday was searching for drone debris near the border with Ukraine following fresh attacks on its neighbour, with Romanians reporting hearing explosions.

Drone fragments have been found before in Romania as Russia has carried out nightly attacks on cities across Ukraine since launching its invasion in February 2022.

In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, places in southern Ukraine at the Danube, which marks the border with Romania in that area, came under renewed drone attack.

People in 17 cities and villages in Romania’s south-eastern Tulcea county got alerts on their mobile phones early Wednesday after “several objects” were observed “approaching the northern area” of the county, according to a statement from the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations.

Two Romanian Air Force F-16s have already scanned the area, while searches are being carried out “for possible fallen objects” near the village of Plauru, which faces the Ukrainian port city of Izmail across the Danube, the ministry of defence said.

During the night, 10 calls to its emergency number from people complaining about the sound of explosions or asking for information were recorded.

Plauru resident Costica Tanase told AFP by phone that two drones passed over his house during the night and fell on farmland on Romanian soil.

“I saw them when they exploded on our territory. I was in the yard,” he said, adding he didn’t seek refuge in one of the two air shelters, set up last year following the discovery of drone fragments in the area, as they were too far away from his home.

The last similar phone alert in Romania happened on July 6 in approximately the same area, resulting in searches for possible debris. The defence ministry has not confirmed if anything was found.

Romania has discovered drone fragments near its border with Ukraine several times since 2023, when Russia intensified attacks on ports in southern Ukraine.

It has complained about “violation” of its airspace and called on Moscow to end the “repeated attacks” leading to the “irresponsible escalation” of the security situation in the region.

NATO has said it had no indication of an “intentional attack by Russia against allies.”