Romania evacuates border village after Russian drone struck gas vessel at Ukrainian port
A Romanian border village is being evacuated after a ship carrying gas caught fire near a Ukrainian port just a few hundred meters away, following a Russian drone strike, Romanian news outlet Digi24 reported.
Between 100 and 150 people are to be evacuated from the Plauru village, which lies just across the Danube River from the Ukrainian port city of Izmail, hit by a Russian drone attack last night.
The news underscores persistent risks to Romanian border regions as a result of Russian aerial strikes against the port infrastructure of southern Ukraine.
Authorities in Ukraine's Odesa Oblast reported a "massive" attack against the region overnight on Nov. 17, resulting in damaged energy and port infrastructure and several damaged vessels.
Local Romanian officials told Digi24 that the vessel carrying thousands of metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is burning just 500 meters (over 1,640 feet) from the village.
The damaged LPG tanker Orinda was flying the Turkish flag and its 16 Turkish crew members safely abandoned the vessel without injuries, Turkey's government said.
Tudor Cernega, the mayor of the Ceatalchioi commune that includes Plauru, said that authorities are inspecting the village "house by house" and also evacuating the animals.
The mayor said the situation is "very serious," noting that the ship "could explode at any moment."
"Russia's brutal escalation of terror threatens not only Ukraine but also our neighbors," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha commented.
"This underscores the urgency of collective pressure on Moscow to end the war."
Romania, a NATO and EU member sharing a 614-kilometer (381-mile) border with Ukraine, has often reported Russian drones intruding in its airspace or crashing on its territory — including near Plauru — during strikes on Ukraine.
Most recently, the Romanian Defense Ministry reported that a drone likely fell on Romanian territory during Russia's overnight attack on port infrastructure in Ukraine's Odesa Oblast on Nov. 11.
Two months earlier, a Russian drone also entered Romania's airspace during another strike on Ukraine, penetrating about 10 kilometers (6 miles) and remaining for around 50 minutes. Romanian forces did not engage the drone, which eventually returned toward Ukraine.
