The warning came as strikes by Russian forces targeted Ukrainian ports across the Danube. Residents without a shelter were told to stay inside their houses and away from windows and exterior walls.
Eight villages in eastern Romania were sent messages on their phones to warn of "the possibility of falling objects from the surrounding airspace." The alerts were sent shortly after midnight local time and advised residents to stay calm and "take shelter in basements or in civil protection shelters."
Romania’s Ministry of National Defense, which discovered Russian drone debris on Romanian territory for the third time in a week, reported that the warning was issued after a group of drones were detected heading toward Ukrainian ports.
Early in September, Bucharest summoned Russia's charge d'affaires after debris from drones was found inside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member's border for the second time in one week.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been sending Iranian-made Shahed drones to Ukraine's largest ports for exporting grain for months, gradually moving closer and closer to European Union (EU) and NATO territory.
Earlier in September, Oleg Nikolenko, the spokesperson for Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, released a picture of a detonation on Romanian shores and claimed that it was caused by Russian drone fragments.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said this is "an unacceptable breach of Romania’s air space." Iohannis warned about the proximity of the attacks, describing them as a serious threat to the security of the Black Sea. (Related: Russia launches drone attack on Kyiv Day, killing one and injuring another.)
Residents in Tulcea and Nufaru were warned that there could be "possible cases of drone impact" before the alert was eventually lifted at 5 a.m. local time.
According to residents in the bordering villages, they frequently hear the drones flying overhead. Costica Tanase, a resident in Plauru on the Ukraine-Romania border, said the sirens sound at night to warn residents about incoming drones.
However, despite the discovery of drone debris, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu insisted that "no one attacked us and no one is attacking us." He added that the remains "jumped from a drone that was hit by the Ukrainian army." The drone was safe because it allegedly didn't have explosives and it couldn't have harmed Romanian citizens.
Bucharest issues formal complaint over Russian drones in Romanian airspace
Romania has also issued a formal complaint to Moscow about Russian drones invading Romanian airspace. Previously, Romania denounced Russian attacks on grain infrastructure at the Ukrainian ports of Reni and Izmali as "unjustified and in serious contradiction with the rules of international humanitarian law."
Following the discovery of the Russian drones, Romania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it firmly protests against the continued violation of Romania's airspace and that it will "summon the head of Russia's diplomatic mission."
Dylan White, NATO's acting spokesperson, said Romania's ambassador has updated allies about the new drone fragment findings. White claims there is no indication of "any intentional attack by Russia against allied territory."
Mircea Geoana, NATO deputy secretary general, also said there is no chance the nation will be dragged into the Russia-Ukraine war.
Despite these empty promises from the authorities, many fear that the Russia-Ukraine war could soon escalate beyond Ukraine's western borders, especially because of Russia's constant attacks on the Danube ports, which are very close to NATO members like Romania.
Reports have also revealed that two makeshift concrete structures are being built by the military in Romania. At least 50 soldiers are using concrete slabs to build shelters measuring 10 meters long, two meters wide and 1.5 meters high.
Talking about precautionary measures, Raed Arafat, the head of the emergency services in the area, advised that even if there is only a 0.001 percent risk, measures must be swiftly prepared and enforced to protect all residents.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has also launched several drone attacks on key Russian positions, including missiles fired at the headquarters of Putin’s Black Sea Fleet in annexed Crimea shortly before Putin met Kim Jong-Un.
Learn more about the use of drones in warfare at DroneWatchNews.com.
Watch this video about Romania's measures to prepare for the fallout of the Russia-Ukraine war.
This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com.
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Escalating tensions could spark Russia-NATO war at sea.
Russia halts Black Sea grain deal but denies its connection to Ukrainian sea drone attack.
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