Romania finds possible drone fragments after Russian strikes on Ukrainian ports

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Possible drone fragments were found inside Romania’s southeastern border region following Russian strikes on Ukrainian Danube River ports overnight, the Romanian Ministry of Defense said Tuesday.

Romanian radars detected groups of drones near the NATO country’s airspace just after midnight Tuesday, prompting the ministry to issue an alert to residents of the southeastern region.

Weather conditions did not allow for fighter jets to be deployed, the defense ministry said, but military teams were able to recover possible drone fragments some 5 kilometers (3 miles) inside Romania’s border with Ukraine.

Breaches of Romania’s airspace by drones have become increasingly frequent in recent months as Russia targets Ukrainian Danube River ports just across the border. Officials have stated that samples collected from sites where drone fragments were found have been similar to those used by the Russian army.

Romania and Poland are now deploying a new weapons system to defend against Russian drones following a spate of incursions into NATO airspace in recent months that exposed the alliance’s vulnerabilities and put Europe on edge.