(Reuters) – Romania found a drone crater near the border with Ukraine on Thursday after an overnight Russian attack on Ukrainian port infrastructure, the defence ministry said.
The ministry said the crater, about 1.5 metres deep, was caused by the “uncontrolled crash of a drone used in the attack on Ukrainian port infrastructure.”
The drone fell in an unpopulated area near the village of Grindu, it said.
Following the attack, Romanian F-16 fighter jets and German Eurofighter Typhoon planes had carried out surveillance of Romania’s air space, the ministry said.
Russia and Ukraine did not immediately comment on the defence ministry statement.
Since pulling out of a deal allowing the safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea in July, Russia has been attacking Ukrainian ports and warehouses across the Danube River from NATO member Romania. Since then, there have been isolated incidents of drone parts landing in Romania.
NATO has a mutual defence commitment if one of its members is attacked, but NATO and Romanian officials have said they have found no evidence of any deliberate attacks on Romania.
Romania has moved air defences closer to villages on its side of the Danube, expanded a no-fly zone and added more military observation posts and patrols to the area, while NATO has increased air policing missions.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Timothy Heritage)
