Authorities report airspace breach, possible drone crash in Romania amid Russian attack on Ukraine
<p>The National Defense Ministry reported that its monitoring and surveillance systems detected violations of Romanian airspace during a Russian drone attack on Ukraine on Friday morning, January 17. Subsequent searches revealed signs of a “possible drone impact site” on Romanian territory.</p>
<p>After the drones were first detected, two F-16 aircraft from the Romanian Air Force base in Borcea were deployed to monitor the situation. Moreover, residents of Tulcea County were alerted via the Ro-Alert system at around 1:39 AM. </p>
<p>“Russian forces resumed a series of drone attacks on civilian and port infrastructure targets in Ukraine on the morning of January 17, near the border with Romania, in Tulcea County,” the Defense Ministry stated in a <a href="https://www.mapn.ro/cpresa/18733_comunicat-de-presa">press release</a>.</p>
<p>The planes dispatched to investigate returned roughly two hours later, when alert measures were also lifted. Ground teams later uncovered evidence of a possible drone impact outside the village of Plauru, close to the border with Ukraine. A Russian drone fell near the same village in <a href="https://www.romania-insider.com/drone-crater-romanian-teritory-russian-attacks-ukraine-oct-2023">October 2023</a>, when the authorities uncovered a crater in the vegetation. </p>
<p>“The area has been secured, and teams of specialists from the Ministry of National Defense, the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) will collect evidence and carry out investigations according to protocol,” the Defense Ministry added.</p>
<p>The ministry ended its press release by condemning Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and objectives.</p>
<p>The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also <a href="https://www.mae.ro/node/66195">condemned</a> the violation of Romanian airspace by Russian drones and the “irresponsible attacks by Russian forces, which violate all norms of international law” on Ukraine.</p>
<p>“Respect for sovereignty, security, and peace are obligations that the Russian Federation systematically and unprovokedly violates. Persistent aggressive actions, the illegal occupation of neighboring territories, and the large-scale illegal war Russia has been waging for almost three years against a sovereign neighbor pose a serious and persistent threat not only to Ukraine but to the entire Black Sea region and the Eastern Flank of the North Atlantic Alliance,” the institution added, noting that it has informed Romania’s allies of the event.</p>
<p>In December of last year, Romanian authorities approved <a href="https://www.romania-insider.com/romania-draft-laws-allowing-shoot-down-drones-breaching-airspace-2024">two draft laws</a> establishing protocols for handling foreign drones entering the country’s airspace during peacetime. Measures could include taking control of the flight, neutralizing the drones by disabling their command and control functions, or destroying them as a last resort.</p>
<p>Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Russian drones have either fallen in or transited Romanian territory several times.</p>
<p><em><a href="mailto:radu@romania-insider.com">radu@romania-insider.com</a></em></p>
<p><em>(Photo source: Trentinness | <a href="https://www.dreamstime.com/">Dreamstime.com</a>)</em></p>