New fragments of a possible drone detected in Romania, 14 km from the Ukrainian border

The Romanian Ministry of National Defense announced that in the area of ​​the towns of Nufărul and Victoria, in Tulcea county, fragments that could have come from a drone were found, scattered over an area of ​​several tens of meters. An Air Force helicopter has been dispatched to the area, where they will collect evidence. The teams of the Ministry of Defense are checking after last night, people from several localities in the Danube Delta called 112 to announce that drones had fallen. Tulcea Inspectorate for Emergency Situations received two calls to 112 in this regard.

It is about an area located 14 kilometers from the border, more than 20 kilometers in a straight line from the port of Izmail and 8 kilometers from Tulcea.

“The crew of an IAR 330 Puma helicopter of the Romanian Air Force, from the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, identified on Wednesday, September 13, around 11:30 a.m., in the area of ​​the towns of Nufărul and Victoria, in Tulcea county, fragments that could have come from a drone, scattered over an area of ​​several tens of meters. According to the procedures, another helicopter of the Romanian Air Force, from the Air Transport Base 90 in Otopeni, was sent to the area with a specialized team on board, to carry out preliminary investigations in land and the collection of evidence for carrying out the expertise”, the Ministry of Defense announced.

The Ministry of National Defense claims, in a press release, that it monitored the air situation in the areas of responsibility in real time. “As a result of the detection of groups of drones heading towards Ukrainian ports, the Ministry of Defense notified the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, starting at 00:45, regarding the specific areas in Tulcea and Galati counties, located in the vicinity, with the potential of to be affected by the risks associated with this situation. The air pre-alert status in these areas ended at 5:00 a.m.,” says the Ministry of Defense. Also, in cooperation with other institutions of the National Defense System, public order and national security, MApN investigates possible cases of drone impact on the territory of Romania.

“As a result of the evolution of the situation and on the basis of the information received from ISU Tulcea, regarding telephone notifications through the 112 service about possible cases of drone impact in a sector between the localities of Nufăru, Malcoci and Valea Nucarilor, Tulcea county, teams of MApN, in cooperation with forces and means from other institutions of the National Defense System, public order and national security, are investigating these situations. We will return with details, depending on the data received from the field. MApN forces remain on alert and will continue investigations in the areas where risks may occur as a result of this situation”, MApN says.

The Ministry of National Defense strongly condemns the attacks carried out by the Russian Federation against some objectives and elements of civil infrastructure in the Ukrainian ports on the Danube.

These attacks are unjustified and in serious contradiction with the rules of international humanitarian law, MApN claims. Also, MApN remains in permanent contact with the allied structures, which are informed in real time about the situation generated by these attacks.

Ministry of National Defence spokesman Constantin Spinu explained that the drones used by the Russian Federation are difficult to spot on radar because they attack at low and very low altitudes.

Asked why the radars did not identify the drones that would have fallen on Romanian territory, Spinu explained: “The respective attack drones used by the Russian Federation in these attacks do attack at low and very low heights, up to 100 meters. It is a principle of radar, of physics. The radar means at these low and very low heights obtain the image very difficult, because at these heights there is topography, there are infrastructure elements, there is vegetation, there are even birds, and drones have dimensions similar to those of birds. So, there are many technical limitations for any type of locator in the world, no matter how high-performance it may be, and we have state-of-the-art and high-performance radar devices.”

He added that “no radar anywhere in the world has unlimited detection capabilities.”

“The range of measures that lead to the reduction of risks must include and include elements of civil protection and risk management in the area of civil emergencies, so that we can be sure, as much as possible with such a violent war on the borders, that our citizens are protected by all the measures that can be taken,” the spokesman of the Ministry of Defense added.

A new Russian drone attack that took place on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday damaged the port infrastructure in the port of Izmail and injured at least six people, three of them in serious condition, Odessa Region Governor Oleh Kiper said. The Romanian authorities sent an RO-Alert message to 8 localities in Tulcea county, located near the border with Ukraine.