Romania expects Ukraine to explain June 5 naval drone incident on June 23

Ukraine confirmed that it would respond to the set of 14 questions sent by the Romanian side regarding the June 5 naval drone incident on June 23, Romanian acting Minister of Defense Radu Miruţă said, cited by News.ro. Separately, Constanta Port management should come up within 11 days with a security plan that would be enforced within three months.

“I'm waiting for the answers, certainly, more than you. I'm constantly discussing. I only received a response to the address that the final answer will come on June 23, that is, in a few days. It's a country at war, still,” Miruță said.

“At the Port of Constanța, the security situation is serious. I have instructed the Board of Directors and the port management to come up with a plan within 15 days, to be implemented urgently within three months, at least for the three critical checkpoints at the entry to the port from the sea. This plan should be implemented even in a partial form as quickly as possible,” he added.

Immediately after the incident, Romanian president Nicusor Dan said that a detailed report would be ready within 7-10 days. Speaking on June 20 in Istanbul, President Dan said that the report would be ready within one to two weeks, after discussions with the Ukrainian parties that have not begun yet.

“We collected the information from all the institutions involved, which resulted in a common material for next week's discussion with the Ukrainian side on the military segment. Separately, as we announced two weeks ago, our institutions within the Ministries of Defense and Interior drafted a patrolling plan to ensure security, especially during the summer season, which is starting,” president Dan said, according to the Presidential Administration.

In the morning of June 5, a Ukrainian naval drone with an explosive load was found near a berth in the commercial port of Constanta after it passed without being spotted at two consecutive entry points. It self-detonated four hours after it was found. Ukraine reportedly confirmed the drone and notified the Romanian authorities shortly before the self-detonation – but the timeline and the details remain unclear.

Besides the set of 14 questions sent to the Ukrainian side, more questions should be answered by the Romanian authorities, who communicated contradictory versions of the developments at that time.

(Photo: Codrin Unici/ Inquam Photos)