Romania: Romania’s defence ministry announced on Saturday that the country’s military radar systems had identified a potential breach of its national airspace during an overnight drone attack by Russia targeting Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure.

Russia’s actions followed its withdrawal from a Black Sea grain deal in mid-July, leading to a series of attacks on Ukrainian ports and warehouses situated across the Danube River from Romania, which serves as Kyiv’s primary alternative export route.

In a concerning development, fragments of suspected Russian drones were discovered on Romanian territory on three separate occasions this month. These incidents underscore the security challenges faced by NATO, as a mutual defence commitment binds member nations.

The defence ministry’s statement explained, “The Romanian Army’s radar surveillance system identified a possible unauthorized breach of national airspace, with a signal detected on the route to the town of Galati.” Search teams were swiftly dispatched, although no fallen objects had been identified on Romanian soil at the time of the announcement. Efforts to locate any potential debris will continue.

Residents in Tulcea and Galati counties received phone alerts after swarms of drones were detected heading toward Ukraine near the Romanian border. These alerts were part of the coordinated response to ensure the safety of local populations in the face of escalating drone attacks.