NATO’s Romania castigates Putin’s forces over new drone crash
Romania accused the Kremlin of an “irresponsible escalation” on Thursday, after it once again found evidence that a Russian drone crashed on its territory following Moscow’s overnight attack on a Ukrainian port.
“[Romania’s foreign ministry] summoned the Russian ambassador to protest against these continued actions, which are in flagrant contradiction with the international law and an irresponsible escalation,” Romania’s ambassador to NATO, Dan Neculăescu, said.
Romanian authorities on Thursday found a 1.5-meter-deep crater in an uninhabited area of eastern Romania, about 4 kilometers from the small town of Grindu, which was the result of a drone crash, according to Romania’s defense ministry.
The area has been secured and authorities have launched an investigation.
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This is a “new violation of Romania's airspace, contrary to international law,” the foreign ministry said. As a NATO member, Romania is protected under Article 5 of the military alliance’s treaties, which says that an attack on one member will be considered an attack on all members.
Romania immediately notified NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and summoned Russian ambassador to Bucharest Valeriy Kuzmin.
The ministry also urged Russia to end its “repeated attacks against the Ukrainian population and civilian infrastructure” and stop escalating the security situation at the border between Romania and Ukraine.
This isn’t the first time that explosives fired during the Russian war on Ukraine have landed in foreign countries, including EU and NATO members.
In November last year, NATO held crisis talks after a missile landed in Poland, though U.S. President Joe Biden later said it was unlikely to have been fired from Russia.
In September, another Russian drone was found on Romanian territory near the Danube river, triggering the fury of Romanian officials. Soon after, Bulgaria, also a NATO member, reported finding a kamikaze drone on its territory, but it could not confirm its origins.
NATO's spokesperson Dylan White on Thursday condemned "Russian attacks against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and along the Danube," adding that NATO is monitoring the situation and remaining in close contact with Romania.
"NATO has no information indicating any intentional attack by Russia against allies," he added.