Russian-made drones found near key European gas site are blown up in Black Sea
Romanian army divers destroyed two Russian-made drones found drifting near the Neptun Deep gas project in the Black Sea. Ukraine confirmed the systems do not belong to it.
Romania's Defense Minister Radu Miruță announced that army explosive ordnance disposal divers destroyed two Russian-made drones discovered floating in the Black Sea near Neptun Deep, Romania's largest offshore gas project currently under development. Miruță posted a video on Facebook showing one of the drones being detonated underwater by the divers.
The drones were first noticed by a ship operating in the vicinity of Neptun Deep. A Romanian Coast Guard vessel carrying army soldiers responded and located two drifting Gerbera-type drones of Russian design, along with additional debris in the water.
Miruță said Romania had contacted Ukrainian partners, who confirmed the drones did not belong to Ukraine.
Pattern of border incursions
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has repeatedly resulted in drones straying, whether by accident or design, across the borders of neighboring European countries including Romania. Dozens of such incursions into Romanian airspace have at times caused damage and prompted Romania to scramble fighter jets, at significant cost, to shoot down errant drones.
In one of the more serious incidents, a Russian Geran-2 drone carrying explosives struck an apartment building in southeastern Romania on May 29, injuring a child and a woman and forcing roughly 70 residents to evacuate. A separate earlier strike damaged a workshop and an electricity pole, prompting the evacuation of more than 500 people.
