Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: OLEKSII CHUMACHENKO / ANADOLU AGENCY / ANADOLU AGENCY VIA AFP 16:43 p.m., October 12, 2023

On Thursday, damage to the ground was discovered by Romania, a member of NATO. These were caused by the "possible explosion" of a drone following the nightly Russian attacks on port infrastructure, near the Danube, in neighboring Ukraine. Faced with this situation, the authorities have denounced airspace violations.

NATO member Romania on Thursday discovered ground damage caused by a "possible explosion" of a drone following overnight Russian attacks on port infrastructure near the Danube River in neighboring Ukraine. "At around 05:00 a.m., ground crews reported the discovery of a drone crater, with a possible explosion on impact, in an area of vegetation," about 3 km west of the village of Plauru, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. "Steps have been taken to secure the area" and "allies are being briefed in real time," he added.

'A threat to citizens'

Romania has discovered drone debris several times in recent weeks in this region of southeastern Romania, which shares a 650km border with Ukraine. Faced with this situation, the authorities denounced airspace violations constituting "a threat to citizens" and built air raid shelters. Bucharest on Thursday again condemned "the attacks carried out by the Russian Federation" against Ukraine's Danube ports, calling them "unjustified and in flagrant contradiction with the rules of international humanitarian law".

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According to the spokesman of the Ministry of Defence, Constantin Spinu, "there was no intention, in any of the cases, to touch the territory of Romania". "What appears to be different" from previous strikes is this possible explosion at the moment of impact, he told Digi 24 television. During a visit to Romania on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of the "threat" posed to his neighbour by Russian missiles and drones and said he was working on "strengthening air defence".

Since the launch of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, NATO has been working to prevent the war from spilling over into its territory. Ukraine's air force said Thursday it had destroyed 28 Russian drones overnight, as a strike damaged buildings in the Izmail district, just across the river from Plauru. After the abandonment in July of the grain agreement that allowed Ukraine to freely export its production, Russia has stepped up attacks in this region, where crucial platforms and ports for trade on the Black Sea are located.