Romanian defense officials announced Saturday that they discovered an unexploded device containing explosives in a village located in the southeastern part of the country, close to its border with Ukraine.
The NATO and European Union member nation has a 650-kilometer border with Ukraine. Unmanned aircraft from Russia targeting Ukrainian ports along the Danube river have repeatedly entered Romanian airspace, with debris occasionally landing on Romanian soil when Ukrainian defenders intercept them.
Defense ministry officials identified the device as an unguided reactive projectile, which was located in the yard of an empty residence in Pardina village within Tulcea county, according to their official statement. Authorities did not specify where they believe the projectile originated.
“Technical verifications confirmed the presence of 2 kg worth of explosives in the projectile’s body,” the statement said, adding that the area’s perimeter had been secured.
In the previous month, an explosive unmanned aircraft crashed into a residential backyard in the city of Galati, representing the initial occurrence since Ukraine’s conflict began where such an event caused property damage within Romania.
Leaders from NATO’s 14 eastern member countries stated this week that Russia’s continued airspace violations demonstrate the critical importance of strengthening the alliance’s defensive capabilities against missiles and unmanned aircraft.
