NATO member Romania finds drone fragments after Russian strikes on Ukrainian ports

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) – NATO member Romania found drone fragments on its territory in an inhabited area near its southeastern border region following Russian strikes on Ukrainian Danube River ports overnight, authorities said Tuesday.

Romanian radars detected groups of drones near the NATO country’s airspace just after midnight Tuesday, prompting the emergency authorities to issue an alert to residents of the northern areas of Tulcea County, the Romanian Ministry of National Defense said.

Weather conditions did not allow for fighter jets to be deployed, the ministry said, but military teams were able to recover possible drone fragments some 5 kilometers (3 miles) inside Romania’s border with Ukraine.

After the defense ministry’s statement, Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu confirmed in a post on X that the drone fragments landed in an inhabited area on Romanian territory.

“These actions are part of a series of similar incidents and represent a characteristic of the war of aggression waged by Russia,” she said. “This is also reflected in Russia’s systematic provocations against the EU and NATO.”

“We will not hesitate to increase the price that Russia pays for such reckless and illegal actions,” she added, noting that new sanctions are being prepared to “impose a substantial cost” on Russia.

Breaches of Romania’s airspace by drones have become increasingly frequent in recent months as Russia targets Danube River ports just across the border in Ukraine. Officials have stated that samples collected from sites where drone fragments were found are similar to those used by the Russian army.

Romania and Poland are now deploying a new weapons system to defend against Russian drones following a spate of incursions into NATO airspace in recent months that exposed the alliance’s vulnerabilities and put Europe on edge.