Russia jams ships' GPS communications in Romanian territorial waters

Chief of the Defense Staff of the Romanian Armed Forces, General Daniel Petrescu, said this, Romania Journal reports.

"Right now we see no end to this war, and while we admire the resilience of Ukrainian society in the face of Russian attacks, we must also prepare for a prolonged confrontation with the Russian regime. We feel this confrontation very much, especially on NATO's eastern flank and especially in the Black Sea region. The Russian war in Ukraine has fundamentally destabilized the Black Sea region," the Chief of Staff said.

According to him, Russia's attacks have become "the new normal" and "the war in Ukraine will continue to create regional instability and security risks for Romania and the region."

"There is an ongoing risk associated with the increased likelihood of incidents on NATO's border caused by the possibility that certain drones or missiles could miss. Romanian infrastructure or commercial vessels in territorial waters could be hit by mistake," Petrescu said.

Consequences of Russian shelling for Romania

On the night of September 3 to 4, Russia launched a massive attack on southern Ukraine with Iranian-made kamikaze drones. According to border guards, some of the drones crashed and exploded on the territory of Romania, a NATO member state. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba claimed to have photographic evidence of the drones falling in Romania. Romanian authorities initially denied that the drone fragments had fallen and claimed that they posed no danger to the country. However, on September 6, Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar confirmed that the ministry's team had found suspected pieces of a Russian drone on the country's territory.

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

On September 12, it was reported that the Romanian Ministry of Defense began building shelters for the population in the village of Plauru, located near Ukrainian Izmail.

Given Russia's frequent shelling of Ukraine's territories bordering Romania, the NATO country's authorities decided to move air defense assets closer to the border.