Claims And Counterclaims After 'Russian Drone' Impacts NATO Member Romania

A man investigates a crater in the middle of a charred patch of trees near the border with Ukraine in Romania’s Tulcea County on September 7.

Charred tree trunks near the apparent explosion crater.

On September 4, Kyiv claimed that Russian kamikaze drones had struck the territory of Romania during an attack on Izmayil, a port city on Ukraine’s Danube delta, early that morning. The claims sparked a sequence of assertions and denials that have rocked Romania's government.

An image purporting to show an explosion on Romanian territory during the drone attacks on Ukrainian port facilities. The video was reportedly taken from the Ukrainian side of the Danube River.

Following the Ukrainian claim, unclear video emerged purporting to show at least one explosion occurring on Romanian territory.
 

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis speaks with a NATO commander at a base in Cincu, central Romania, on September 5.

Iohannis told reporters while visiting the NATO military base, “I can tell you that no part of any drone or any other part of any other device landed in Romania. We have total control over our territory," adding, “I checked absolutely everything and I can reassure the population."

Smoke rises from Ukrainian territory as Romania’s Defense Minister Angel Tilvar (in plaid shirt) consults with other men in an image released by the ministry on September 6.

In a September 6 Facebook post, Romania’s Defense Ministry appeared to contradict the assertions of the president, announcing it had discovered “elements that resemble drone remains” on Romanian territory just across the border from Ukraine's Izmayil, which it vowed to investigate.

A file photo of a port in Izmayil, Ukraine. Romanian territory can be seen at left, across the Danube River, the natural boundary between the two countries.

On September 7, the Romanian Defense Ministry released a statement condemning the Russian attack on the Ukrainian port, then declared the kamikaze drone strikes on Ukraine “did not pose any direct military threats against our national territory.”

Also on September 7, Romanian journalists discovered the site of an apparent explosion near the village of Ceatalchioi and filmed pieces of possible fiberglass found in the area. Shahed kamikaze drones are made with fiberglass skin.

A map showing Ceatalchioi, on the border with Ukraine. 

Romania’s military have since said there is no evidence of an explosion at the site and that the trees photographed at the site were damaged by a fire "that could have been caused by fuel leaking from fragments of a drone." 

A charred tree trunk at the site of the purported explosion.

On September 7, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg addressed the apparent drone impacting NATO territory, saying, “We don't have any information indicating an intentional attack by Russia, and we are awaiting the outcome of the ongoing investigation."

In November 2022, Kyiv accused Moscow of launching a missile that killed two people in NATO member Poland. It was later revealed the missile was probably Ukrainian.