The Romanian military has discovered suspected Russian drone fragments near one of the Danube River's branches, the Romanian Defense Minister reported on Sept. 13.
According to the ministry, a Romanian helicopter crew found possible drone debris near the villages of Nufărul and Victoria in Tulcea County, dispersed over an area of several tens of meters, at around 11:30 a.m. local time.
Another helicopter was reportedly dispatched to the site with a specialized team onboard to investigate the fragments.
The villages lie at the Saint George's Branch of the Danube, roughly 15-20 kilometers southeast of the Ukrainian border.
This is not the first time the Romanian authorities have found fragments of what are presumably Russian drones destroyed in strikes against Ukraine.
Russia has escalated its attacks against Ukrainian port infrastructure following its unilateral termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, targeting Ukraine's river ports Izmail and Reni near the Romanian border.
Following a drone attack overnight on Sept. 4, Ukraine said that some unmanned aerial vehicles had fallen and detonated on Romanian soil.
Bucharest initially denied the report, only to change their statement on Sept. 6, when Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar confirmed that what appears to be drone fragments had been found on Romania's side of the Danube River.
On Sept. 9, the Romanian military found debris from yet another drone "similar to those used by the Russian army" at Plauru, a village only a few hundred meters from the Ukrainian border.
Romania's President Klaus Iohannis condemned the incident "caused by the Russian attacks on the Ukrainian ports on the Danube."
The Kyiv Independent news desk
