Russian missiles land in NATO member Poland killing two
Romania's defence ministry confirmed that pieces of a Russian drone were found on its soil - sending tensions soaring.
The NATO member sits across the Danube River from Ukraine where Russia has been carrying out strikes on ports used to export grain.
Defence minister Angel Tilvar told local news channel Antena 3 CNN that parts of what was most likely a drone were discovered in the eastern Tulcea county, an area of the Danube that forms a natural border between Romania and war-torn Ukraine.
“I confirm that in this area, pieces that may be of a drone were found,” he said, adding that the pieces didn’t pose a threat.
It’s unclear if Romania has determined when or from where the drone was launched. Ukraine claimed to have video evidence of a Russian drone landing in Romanian territory and detonating following a recent attack.
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A Shahed 136 drone - similar to the one pictured - is thought to have hit Romania. (Image: AP)
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.
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A Ukrainian firefighter tackles a blaze in Reni near the Romanian border. (Image: STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE OF UKRAINE)
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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 defences in neighbouring 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.”
Article 5 of the NATO founding treaty, about collective defence, holds that “if a NATO Ally is the victim of an armed attack, each and every other member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members and will take the actions it deems necessary to assist the Ally attacked”.
It explicitly states that “an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all”.
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