Romanian President Klaus Iohannis also denied those claims on Tuesday, saying that the attacks were “verified 800 meters (yards) from our border, so very, very close…reports Asian Lite News
Romanian Defence Minister Angel Tilvar has confirmed that parts of what could be a drone were found in the country’s southeastern Tulcea County neighbouring Ukraine.
“Parts of equipment that could potentially be a drone” have been found in an area difficult to access because of abundant vegetation, he said on Wednesday after visiting the area.
“Our teams went there, took samples … and now these samples are being investigated, analysed … to find out the origin, capacity, type and so on,” he added.
“There is a reasonable possibility that it didn’t explode when it hit the ground, but simply fell or pieces of this equipment ended up on Romanian territory …,” Tilvar was quoted by the official Agerpres news agency as saying.
Earlier, Defence Ministry spokesperson Constantin Spinu said the possible drone parts were discovered on Tuesday night.
Tilvar’s comments come after Romania’s Ministry of National Defense “categorically denied” claims made on Monday by the spokesperson of Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oleg Nikolenko, who said that Shahed drones launched by Russia on Sunday night fell and exploded on Romanian territory.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis also denied those claims on Tuesday, saying that the attacks were “verified 800 meters (yards) from our border, so very, very close.”
On Wednesday, Iohannis responded to the minister’s comments by saying he had requested an “urgent investigation.”
“If it is confirmed that these elements come from a Russian drone, such a situation would be completely inadmissible and a serious violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Romania, a NATO allied state,” he said at the Three Seas Initiative summit in Bucharest.
Romania briefed its NATO allies Wednesday about the find at a meeting of the 31-nation organization’s envoys in Brussels.
“The Romanian authorities have confirmed that debris, possibly from a drone, has been found on Romanian soil, close to the border with Ukraine,” NATO spokesperson Dylan White said in a statement.
“Allies expressed strong solidarity with Romania,” White said. “We continue to monitor the situation closely, and we remain in close contact with our ally Romania.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine last year in February, there has been only one other recorded incident of the war spilling into a NATO member state. That was when a missile struck a farm in Poland, killing two people. Polish officials later said it appeared to be unintentional and was probably launched by air defenses in neighboring Ukraine.
“In a fairly short period of time there were a series of attacks that Russia made against Ukrainian port facilities and warehouses,” Tilvar said. “Which is why I think it is important to strengthen vigilance measures.”
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