Another drone falls in south-eastern Romania after Russian attack on Ukraine

Another drone has fallen in Romania, near the border with Ukraine, after Russia attacked Ukrainian ports on the Danube. The drone left a 1.5-meter crater that was found by teams from the Romanian Ministry of Defense.

Russian forces continued their drone attacks on Ukrainian port facilities on Wednesday night, December 13. Romania’s Ministry of National Defence said that it monitored the situation in the border area and activated Air Police procedures, also notifying the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, or IGSU, about areas in Tulcea and Galați counties that could have been affected by the risks associated with this situation. IGSU issued an RO-Alert message at 22:45, and the state of air alert ceased around 02:00.

The Air Force deployed F-16 and Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to monitor the area as part of its Air Police procedures.

“F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force from the 86th Air Base in Fetești and Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft of the German Air Force from the 57th Air Base ‘Mihail Kogălniceanu’ were deployed to execute national airspace surveillance missions. The Romanian Army's radar surveillance system indicated, during this situation, a possible unauthorized entry into the national airspace, with a signal detected at low altitude,” the press release states.

The drone fell four kilometers from the town of Grindu, in Tulcea County, south-eastern Romania. At the site, teams from the Ministry of National Defense found a crater of 1.5 meters. Further investigations are being conducted.

The ministry firmly condemned the attacks carried out by the Russian Federation against targets and elements of civilian infrastructure in the Ukrainian ports on the Danube.

"These attacks are unjustified and in serious contradiction with the rules of international humanitarian law," the Defense Ministry said.

MApN specifies that it will continue airspace monitoring missions and remain in constant contact with allies.

This is not the first incident of its kind. Several other drones fell on Romanian territory following Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports on the Danube. A crater was discovered in a vegetation area near the right bank of the Chilia Branch in October, for example, with a possible impact explosion.

(Photo source: Dezzor | Dreamstime.com)