A sea-based drone connected to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine detonated Friday morning at Romania’s Constanta port along the Black Sea, though no injuries occurred, according to the country’s Defense Ministry.
The ministry reported that the device exploded on its own around 10:30 a.m., with the location already secured and cordoned off by Romania’s Intelligence Service, coast guard personnel, and defense officials.
Officials confirmed the drone did not belong to Romania’s military forces and was unrelated to recent training operations conducted by Romanian forces in the Black Sea region. Emergency responders evacuated the surrounding area as a precaution.
This maritime explosion follows another drone incident from the previous week, when a Russian aerial drone targeting Ukraine veered off course and hit an apartment complex in Romania’s Galati, a Danube port city, wounding two residents in the NATO member nation.
The head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, announced during a press briefing that helicopter crews were dispatched to scan for additional drones while officials sent emergency text alerts to local residents.
“There is a possibility that there may be other drones,” he said. “We are not panicking. These are preventive measures. If there are other drones, we want to make sure there is not another explosion in an area where people are not evacuated.”
Emergency officials evacuated more than 1,300 individuals from multiple Black Sea coastal areas and shut down access roads leading to those locations.
Romanian President Nicusor Dan praised law enforcement and security agencies for acting “quickly and preventively” ahead of the blast, emphasizing that protecting lives and securing port facilities remained the top priority.
“With a military conflict on the border, it is obvious that the security environment we are in is a sensitive one, which is why we will maintain a high level of vigilance,” he said, adding that the incident is a “direct consequence of the war of aggression unleashed by Russia against Ukraine.”
These two events represent additional examples in an ongoing pattern of drone intrusions from both Russian and Ukrainian forces affecting NATO territory since Moscow began its comprehensive assault on Ukraine in February 2022.
Romanian military forces eliminated another maritime drone in Black Sea waters on Wednesday. Since the conflict began in the neighboring country, the Defense Ministry reported that Romanian naval units have destroyed nine out of 156 sea mines discovered in Black Sea waters.
French President Emmanuel Macron offered Romania assistance Friday following the explosion, stating, “We will do whatever your authorities consider as a necessity in order to protect the sovereignty of the land and the air.”
“You can count on us,” he said.
The European Union expressed “full solidarity and support to Romania,” according to European Council President António Costa on Friday.
“The EU condemns the repeated violations of airspace of Member States and reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the security of all Member States,” he said in a post Friday online. “This is the third significant security incident in Romania in recent weeks. These incidents are a direct consequence of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”
