Drone Crashes in Romania Following Russian Strike on Ukraine
"The drone crashed two kilometres from the village of Parches, outside the inhabited area," it added.
A drone that Romanian authorities say was diverted by Ukrainian air defences crashed near a village after overnight Russian strikes on neighbouring Ukraine, officials reported.
Romania, a NATO member and key supporter of Kyiv, has repeatedly experienced airspace violations and falling drone debris since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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“At 00:44, a drone deflected by Ukrainian air defence entered national airspace for a distance of approximately four kilometres,” the defence ministry said.
“The drone crashed two kilometres from the village of Parches, outside the inhabited area,” it added.
Residents in the vicinity received phone alerts warning of a potential hazard.
Emergency services said the wreckage was located after a local person informed authorities.
Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled during the night in response to the incursion.
In 2025, Romania passed a law permitting the shooting down of drones that breach its airspace, although officials say that measure has not yet been used.
Earlier this month, Ukraine and Romania revealed plans to co-produce drones on Romanian soil with up to €200 million in financing from the EU’s SAFE Initiative.
The two countries signed a statement of intent while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was visiting Bucharest.
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In Ukraine, regional officials reported that port facilities on the Danube river in the southern Odesa region were damaged during the Russian drone attack.
Regional Governor Oleh Kiper wrote on the Telegram messaging app that one person was injured and that the strike also hit energy and industrial infrastructure.
The Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority said a Danube port had been targeted. It did not identify the facility by name, but reported damage to warehouses, quays and administrative buildings.
It also detailed harm to the property of separate port operators.
Despite the strikes, the port remains in operation, the authority said.
The mayor of Izmail — the largest Ukrainian port on the Danube — said the town had faced another “massive” Russian drone attack.
Local officials in the Izmail district said that close to17,000 consumers were without power following the assault, which also cut water supplies to the nearby town of Vylkove.
Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched 153 drones at the country, of which 130 were downed or otherwise neutralised.
Over the four-year conflict, Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s maritime export routes, striking ports that are crucial for foreign trade and the wartime economy.
The tempo of attacks has picked up recently; Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Monday that Odesa port infrastructure suffered more strikes in the past month than during the entire previous year.