CONSTANTA, Romania (AP) 鈥� A Ukrainian maritime drone that was being used in the exploded Friday at a Black Sea port in , while three other sea drones exploded outside the port, Romanian authorities said. No one was hurt.
The drone that self-detonated in the port of Constanta exploded at around 10:30 a.m., after the area had been secured and isolated by the Romanian Intelligence Service, coast guard and the Defense Ministry, authorities said.
鈥淚mmediately after identifying the drone, the Ministry of Defense contacted its Ukrainian counterparts, who confirmed that they had lost control of the operation of four drones,鈥� the Romanian government said in a statement. 鈥淭he other three drones self-detonated 鈥� two offshore and the third outside the port.鈥�
鈥淐onfirmation of these events came from both the Ukrainian side and from data obtained by the Romanian authorities,鈥� it added.
Romanian President Nicusor Dan said in a statement online that the Ukrainian forces 鈥渓ost control of the assets as a result of electronic warfare actions by Russia,” likely jamming, and that the drone’s incursion into 鈥淩omanian sovereign space is a direct consequence of the war waged by Russia鈥� against Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Navy confirmed in a statement that it had lost control of an unmanned naval boat 鈥渨hile performing tasks in the Black Sea operational zone,鈥� and that its military was in contact with Romanian authorities “to prevent losses among the civilian population.
The incident took place a week after a Russian aerial drone that was part of an attack on Ukraine in Romania鈥檚 eastern Danube port city of Galati, injuring two people in the NATO member country.
Raed Arafat, the head of Romania’s Department for Emergency Situations, told a news conference Friday morning that helicopters had been deployed to search for more drones and that the authorities had issued text message alerts to residents.
鈥淭here is a possibility that there may be other drones,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are not panicking. These are preventive measures. If there are other drones, we want to make sure there is not another explosion in an area where people are not evacuated.鈥�
After the port explosion, more than 1,300 people were evacuated from several Black Sea beaches and the routes leading to them were temporarily blocked. Just before 3 p.m., the emergency authorities announced they had suspended evacuation measures.
The Russian Embassy in Bucharest accused Romania on Friday of intentionally releasing 鈥渋ncomplete information鈥� regarding the drone’s origin, and said 鈥渢hree other similar drones鈥� belonging to Ukraine were drifting toward Romanian territorial waters.
鈥淭hese are Ukrainian unmanned maritime vehicles, used by the Kyiv regime to commit terrorist acts against civilian ships and to create threats to the safety of navigation in the Black Sea,鈥� the embassy said. 鈥淎ny attempts to associate, directly or indirectly, these drones with Russia and to assign it responsibility for the incident are without any reason.鈥�
The recent incidents in Romania are some of the latest in a series of drone incursions 鈥� 鈥� to hit NATO members since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
A month ago, Greece after a military sea drone carrying explosives was discovered off a Greek island. Greece determined that it was Ukrainian-built. Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias called it 鈥渁n extremely serious issue,” and the complaint was forwarded to both NATO and the EU.
Romanian forces destroyed another maritime drone in the Black Sea on Wednesday. Since the beginning of the war next door, the Defense Ministry said that the Romanian navy has neutralized nine of the 156 sea mines in the Black Sea basin.
For its part, the European Union was giving 鈥渇ull solidarity and support to Romania,鈥� European Council President Ant贸nio Costa said Friday.
鈥淭he EU condemns the repeated violations of airspace of Member States and reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the security of all Member States,鈥� he said in an online statement Friday. 鈥淭his is the third significant security incident in Romania in recent weeks. These incidents are a direct consequence of Russia鈥檚 war of aggression against Ukraine.鈥�
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McGrath reported from Leamington Spa, England. Associated Press writers Sam McNeil in Brussels and Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Greece, contributed to this report.
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