The Romanian authorities mobilized two Italian Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets deployed in the country on Saturday night after detecting a Russian attack against Ukrainian territory, in the vicinity of the Romanian region of Tulcea. The Romanian Ministry of Defense reported that the drones were located about 12 kilometers east of Valcove, which prompted the takeoff of the fighter jets from the 57th Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base at 00:10. The surveillance operation concluded at 1:44, with no impacts reported on Romanian territory.
The alert was transmitted to the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, which notified the population of Tulcea via a message sent at 00:02. According to the authorities, there was no damage on Romanian soil nor were any casualties reported.
Ukrainian naval drone incident in Constanta
Last Friday, a Ukrainian sea drone exploded in the Romanian port of Constanta, in the Black Sea, without causing any injuries, according to the Romanian Ministry of Defense. The drone, “of the type used in the war in Ukraine,” did not belong to the Romanian inventory and “self-destructed around 10:30 a.m. without causing casualties.” Bucharest indicated that Ukraine confirmed that the device was theirs and that they had lost control due to Russian electronic interference.
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Romania mobilized Eurofighter jets after detecting a Russian attack against Ukraine near a border region.
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The Ukrainian Navy explained that the drone, while carrying out a mission in the Black Sea operational area, was affected by Russian electronic warfare systems, lost control, and reached the Romanian coast. The spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Georgii Tykhyi, stated that Kyiv notified the Romanian authorities as soon as it lost control of the drone, which allowed for “necessary measures to be taken to avoid harm to civilians.”
The Russian embassy in Bucharest stated that the devices were Ukrainian and rejected any attempt to link Russia to the incident.
Naval drones and response from the Romanian authorities
Romanian authorities confirmed that Ukraine informed them about the loss of control of four drones in total. In addition to the device that self-destructed in the port of Constanta, another exploded under the supervision of the Coast Guard off the coast, while two more detonated approximately 145 kilometers east of Constanta, according to what was communicated by president Nicusor Dan.
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The incident occurred a week after a Russian aerial drone injured two people when it crashed into a building in Galati, near the border with Ukraine. Since the start of the war in 2022, Romania has reported dozens of violations of its airspace, attributing them to Russia, and has requested that NATO reinforce its air defenses. The population of Tulcea received an emergency alert during the night and Romanian authorities confirmed that there were no damages or casualties.
President Dan described what happened on Friday as a “significant security incident” and attributed it to “the direct consequences of the war of aggression launched by Russia against Ukraine,” which requires maintaining a “high level of vigilance.” The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, agreed that the event reflects the regional impact of the war started by Russia.
Emergency and evacuation measures on the Romanian coast
NATO reported that it is closely monitoring developments after being notified by Romanian authorities and is maintaining coordination with Bucharest. More than 1,000 people were evacuated from the coastal area and two helicopters were deployed to search for other possible devices. Residents and tourists received telephone alerts to avoid the area within a one-kilometer radius.
The head of emergency management, Raed Arafat, explained that the measures taken are “purely preventive.” President Dan stressed that, thanks to advance information about the possible drone explosion, “everyone was safe.”
Bucharest confirmed that the aerial drone attack on May 29 in Galati was perpetrated with a Russian-origin Geran-2, resulting in injuries to a mother and her teenage son. Days earlier, authorities had found a marine drone on a Black Sea beach in Romania.
