Romanian president: No Russian drones crossed the border
There is no evidence Russian drones reached Romania during an overnight attack on Ukraine on Sept. 4, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on Sept. 5.
He recognized that the attacks took place "at a very short distance from the Romanian border."
The president mentioned that attacks have been recorded just 800 meters from the border.
However, "we have total control over our national space," and Romania is "very well defended" within NATO, Iohannis added.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko said on Sept. 4, citing the State Border Guard Service, that an unspecified number of drones had fallen and detonated in Romania during an attack on Odesa Oblast.
Romania's Defense Ministry "firmly denied" this and said there were no direct military threats to the country.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba then responded that Ukraine has visual evidence of Russian attack drones falling on Romanian territory.
"It's pointless to deny that something fell there," Kuleba said.
According to the Foreign Ministry's spokesman Oleh Nikolenko, the attack targeted the area of the Izmail port across the Danube River from Romania. Bucharest, however, said that Russia hit the port of Reni, around 60 kilometers to the west.
On Aug. 3, reports emerged that Russian drones had crossed into Romania's territory during an Aug. 2 attack on the Ukrainian town of Izmail.
A local mayor cited residents who said the drones passed over people's homes, and one of them fell in a forest.
The Romanian Air Force reportedly inspected the site but did not find any "concrete elements" to prove the allegations.
