A drone crashed in Romania on Saturday, after nighttime Russian airstrikes in neighboring Ukraine, near the river border between the two countries, said Romanian authorities, who evacuated more than 200 residents from the area.
Romania, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), has repeatedly seen its airspace violated and drone fragments fall on its territory since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But this is the first time that Russian drone debris has caused material damage on its territory, according to local media.
“Russian forces have resumed drone attacks against civilian targets and infrastructure in Ukraine, near the river border with Romania, in the county of Tulcea” (East), specifies the Ministry of Defense in a press release.
“The radars of the Ministry of Defense have detected drones operating in Romanian airspace,” adds the ministry. “A drone crashed in a populated area”, with a “possible explosive charge”, wrote the Romanian emergency services in a separate press release.
No casualties were reported, but a power pole and a house outbuilding were damaged.
The authorities ordered the “preventive” evacuation of the area to “protect the population” and “allow the secure intervention of specialized teams”, according to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They also ordered gas supplies to be cut off in the region.
Foreign Minister Oana Toiu summoned the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Bucharest. In 2025, Romania passed a law allowing it to shoot down drones that violate its airspace, but no such measures have been taken so far.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
