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NATO still sees no signs of intentional Russian attack on Romania after drone fragment discovery

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NATO still sees no signs of intentional Russian attack on Romania after drone fragment discovery
Romanian Army soldiers build a bomb shelter in the village of Plauru, Danube Delta, 300 kilometers east of Bucharest, Romania, on Sept.12, 2023. Romania's Defense Ministry announced on Sept. 12, that it has started to set up air-raid shelters for residents in the Plauru area near the Ukraine border after drone fragments were found over the weekend. (Photo credit: MIHAI BARBU/AFP via Getty Images)

NATO said again it sees no signs of an intentional attack by Russia against Romania after Bucharest found drone fragments on its territory for the third time, Romanian Ambassador to NATO Dan Neculăescu said on Sept. 13, citing the alliance's spokesperson.

Romania's envoy to NATO updated the allies on Russian strikes against Ukrainian targets near the Romanian border during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council on Sept. 13.

Neculăescu wrote on the social platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that he informed NATO representatives that "fragments of drones similar to those used by Russia have been identified on Romanian territory."

"The Romanian authorities remain on alert and are conducting a full investigation," the NATO spokesperson reportedly said.

"NATO has no information indicating any intentional attack by Russia against Allied territory."

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On Sept. 13, the Romanian military found for the third time possible fragments of a Russian drone on its territory, presumably destroyed in a strike against Ukraine.

The debris was discovered on the Danube Delta near the villages of Nufărul and Victoria in Tulcea County roughly 15-20 kilometers southeast of the Ukrainian border.

In response, Bucharest summoned the Russian ambassador as a "protest to a new violation of Romania's airspace" and condemned attacks against its neighbor Ukraine.

The Romanian authorities previously confirmed the discovery of suspected Russian drone fragments on their soil on Sept. 6. NATO commented at the time that it saw no indication of a deliberate attack against the member of the Alliance.

More fragments were found on Sept. 9 near the village of Plauru, lying at the Danube River only hundreds of meters from Ukraine's border.

Romania has begun to introduce strengthened security measures in the areas at risk of falling debris, constructing air-raid shelters in the settlements near the Danube and issuing warnings through the Ro-Alert emergency system.

Romania summons Russian ambassador following discovery of more drone debris
Romania has summoned the head of the Russian mission in the country and is “closely consulting with NATO allies” following the discovery of more drone debris on its territory, the Romanian Foreign Ministry said on Sept. 13.
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Martin Fornusek

Senior News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

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