Romanian officials finally acknowledged a Russian drone strike on their territory on Wednesday after previously refusing to accept Ukraine’s damning photographic evidence of the matter, according to Euractiv.
On Monday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba revealed that Kyiv had photo evidence demonstrating that Russian drones had breached Romanian airspace during an overnight air attack on the Ukrainian port of Ismail.
“There is a tendency to try not to escalate the interpretation of some events by the partners in order not to be involved in a direct conflict,” said Kuleba.
During a visit to Berlin, Romanian Foreign Minister Luminița Odobescu and Defence Minister Angel Tîlvăr denied this information.
The National Defence Ministry stressed that its units ”had monitored in real time the situation generated by the Russian drone attacks … on the infrastructure near the Ukrainian ports on the Danube.”
Despite the ongoing circulation of information and social media videos, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis vehemently denied the drone incursion on Tuesday. “There has been no drone or any other part of such a device that reached Romania,” he said, speaking from the Cincu military base.
“If the country’s president says that, I believe it,” said Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, who attended the joint press conference with the Romanian head of state.
However, the same day, military experts discovered drone parts in Tulcea County’s Plauru village, situated on the Chilia arm of the Danube River, opposite the Ukrainian city of Izmail.
Tîlvăr stated that he had briefed NATO Allies about the incident but did not deem it necessary to convene the Supreme Council of National Defence.
During the opening of the 3SI Summit in Bucharest, Iohannis emphasised the gravity of the situation. “If it is confirmed that these elements belong to a Russian drone, such a situation would be completely inadmissible and a serious violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Romania, a NATO ally,” he said.
”Such attacks on the Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, which are war crimes, take place at a very short distance from the Romanian border. However, we are alert and in permanent contact with the other NATO allies,” Iohannis added.