Romanian Prime Minister calls on officials to reassure people over falling UAV fragments

The Romanian Defense Ministry reported this, Reuters informs.

"The crew of an IAR 330 Puma helicopter of the Romanian Air Force ... (identified) fragments that could have come from a drone, dispersed over an area of ​​several dozen metres," the ministry said in a statement.

It is noted that the fragments were seen in the area of ​​the towns of Nufarul and Victoria, in Tulcea county.

Also that night, Romania declared an air alert for the first time because of drones over Ukraine.

According to Colonel Eugen Chirice, the RO-Alert was triggered around 3:00 am and was directed to the Galati Rutier customs zone in the direction of Giurgiulesti.

"There is a possibility of some objects falling from the airspace. Stay calm! Take cover in basements or civil defense shelters. If no shelter is available, stay inside your home, away from windows and outer walls," the message sent to the population states.

It is known that the air raid alarm sounded in 8 settlements.

Reaction of the Romanian government

Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said that there was no need to worry about the drone fragments.

"No one is attacking us, people are good. Let's calm down the population, because we are all going crazy!" Ciolacu said.

He emphasized that Romania is not under attack, that there is no danger, that the situation is under control.

"Some shrapnel bounced off a drone shot down by the Ukrainian army. It had no explosives, it had nothing that could harm citizens," the prime minister said.

Situation in Romania: more details

On the night of September 3-4, Russia carried out a massive strike on southern Ukraine with Iranian ‘kamikaze’ drones. According to Ukrainian border guards, some of the drones crashed and exploded on the territory of Romania, a NATO member state. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that there was photographic evidence of the drones crashing in Romania.

The Romanian Foreign Ministry stated that the drone attacks carried out by the Russian Federation did not pose a direct military threat to our national territory or territorial waters.

On September 5, Romanian Prime Minister Klaus Iohannis said that neither Russian drones nor any parts had fallen on Romanian territory.  

OSINT analysts also found that a Russian drone had gone down in Romania near one of the border villages.  

On Wednesday, September 6, Minister Angel Tilvar confirmed that a team from the Ministry of National Defence had found suspected pieces of a Russian drone in Romania.

President Klaus Iohannis said that an investigation should be conducted into the alleged crash of a Russian drone into Romania.

Romania has notified the North Atlantic Alliance of fragments found on its territory that look like a Russian army drone. NATO expressed support and said it was following the developments.

On Friday, September 8, media reported that the Romanian authorities are working to increase security for residents of border settlements near the Odesa region. In response to the Russian threat, the National Emergency Committee decided to create a network of bomb shelters and an air raid warning system.