Conflicts & War

Possible Russian drone fragments found on Romanian territory

Bucharest, Sep 13 (EFE).- Romania has found possible fragments of Russian drones on its territory, its defense ministry said Wednesday.

The debris was spotted in Tulcea county, 14 kilometers from the Ukraine border, and if confirmed, would the third finding of such objects in the NATO member country in recent days.

The discovery follows a Russian drone attack overnight against Danube river port facilities in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region.

The pieces were identified from a Romanian military helicopter in the area of the towns of Nufărul and Victoria around 11.30 am local time (09:30 GMT) Wednesday, the ministry said.

The fragments were “dispersed over an area of several tens of meters,” and were identified after authorities received calls from individuals reporting that they had seen falling objects, it said.

Another Air Force helicopter “was sent to the area with a specialized team on board, to carry out preliminary investigations in the field and the collection of samples for expert examinations.”

In the early hours of Wednesday, Russia attacked the Odesa river ports of Izmail and Reni, both on the Ukrainian bank of the Danube, which separates Romania and Ukraine.

During the attack, Romanian authorities sent an alert via mobile phone to the population of eight towns near the border for the first time.

This week the Romanian army started the construction of some air-raid shelters for residents in the border area.

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on Wednesday called for calm and assured in a press conference that “nothing got out of control” and “there is no danger.”

“There were some remnants of drones that crossed the Danube,” he said, according to local media. “We are not talking about an attack on Romania.”

In mid-July, Russia terminated the grain agreement, by which it was to allow for one year the export of grain through three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, all of them located in Odesa.

Since then, Russian forces have attacked Ukrainian agricultural and port infrastructure several times a week as Ukraine tries to get its grain out via the Danube.

Russia first focused on the Black Sea ports and now appear to have put the focus on the Danube port of Reni.

Romania has been part of NATO since 2004 and has the support of its allies in the event of an attack against its territory. EFE

jbc-jk/tw

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