A Ukrainian maritime drone caused chaos in the Romanian port of Constanta on Friday morning, prompting a large-scale evacuation along the Black Sea coast after three other explosive vessels lost control.
A series of Ukrainian suicide drones, previously effective against Russian naval forces in the Black Sea conflict, seemingly veered off course due to electronic warfare and ended up in Constanta. Romanian authorities recognized one of the drones and tried to neutralize it, but it reportedly “self-destructed” unexpectedly.
The Romanian government confirmed the presence of these drones in the port and alerted Kiev, noting that contact had been lost with four of them. Efforts to safely disarm the drone were fruitless. Intelligence units, along with the coast guard, had already secured the area and evacuated it prior to the explosion, which destroyed nearby buildings but resulted in no injuries.
Search helicopters were deployed to locate the remaining drones, and over 1,000 locals were evacuated as a precaution against the possibility of the drones washing ashore. In total, three of the other drones also detonated—one near the harbor and two others sinking offshore. These drones are designed with self-destruct features to prevent them from being captured by hostile forces.
A Ukrainian official attributed the loss of control of the drone that exploded to Russian electronic warfare, highlighting the ongoing conflict where each side tries to disrupt the other’s guided weapons. They stressed the importance of cooperation with Romania to prevent further casualties. “This situation emphasizes that Russia’s full-scale aggression poses a risk not only to Ukraine but to the entire region,” they stated.
In response, Romania held Russia responsible for the drone’s accidental entry into its territory. “This incident is a direct consequence of Russia’s warfare against Ukraine,” stated President Nikxo Dan.
Russia has denied any involvement.
Interestingly, similar incidents have occurred in the past. Just last week, a Russian drone also exploded in Romania, allegedly after being misdirected. It crashed into an apartment building, fortunately with no casualties.
Romania finds itself frequently dealing with these wayward munitions, likely due to its border with Ukraine along the strategic Danube River, a target for Russian attacks. As reported previously:
Russian airstrikes near the Romanian border have come alarmingly close, with Romanian troops witnessing drones landing on targets a mere 200 meters away. Villagers near the border have received new emergency air raid shelters amid escalating attacks.
The drone that detonated in Romanian waters was identified as a Magura V5, known to have played a role in targeting Russian vessels. An earlier, missing Magura V5 was reported in the Ionian Sea last month, far from its home waters. Ukraine has denied ownership of the explosives-laden boat.
