Russia Denies Drone Attack on Romanian Port, Blames Ukraine
Russia denies involvement in a naval drone explosion at Romania's Constanța port, blaming Ukraine for targeting civilian infrastructure with unmanned surface vehicles.
The Russian Embassy in Bucharest issued a statement asserting that the craft involved were Ukrainian drones used by what it called the Kyiv regime to carry out terrorist attacks against civilian vessels and to threaten Black Sea navigation, according to Brussels Signal.
Russian diplomatic officials described Romania’s account of the incident as deliberately incomplete and dismissed any attempts to attribute responsibility to Moscow as baseless.
The explosion occurred at approximately 10.30am in the civilian section of the port of Constanța in southeastern Romania, near the headquarters of the country’s maritime rescue agency. Romania’s Ministry of National Defence confirmed that the device was of a type used in the ongoing war in Ukraine but did not belong to Romanian forces nor had it participated in recent military exercises.
Romanian security services, including the Intelligence Service, Coast Guard, and Ministry of National Defence, had already secured and isolated the area when the drone self-detonated during assessment and disposal operations. No casualties resulted from the blast, though material damage was reported.
Authorities issued emergency alerts to local residents, instructing them to move away from the Black Sea coast as a precautionary measure.
Romanian President Nicușor Dan commended security forces for their rapid response in evacuating and securing the area before the explosion occurred. He characterized the incident as a direct result of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
Dan noted that this marked the second major security incident along Romania’s Black Sea coast within days. Earlier, a naval mine was discovered near the Vama Veche and 2 Mai resort areas. The Constanța blast also came just days after a Russian-made drone crashed into a residential building in Galați in eastern Romania on May 29, injuring two people.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa both attributed the Constanța incident to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, echoing the Romanian president’s assessment.
The escalating pattern of drone and explosive device discoveries along Romania’s Black Sea coastline has heightened security concerns in the NATO member state, which shares a border with Ukraine and has become increasingly exposed to spillover effects from the conflict.
With information from Brussels Signal
