Bucharest lodged a protest with Russia after finding the debris of a drone on the territory of Romania

Romania, which is a member of NATO, announced today that it has lodged a protest with Moscow after finding debris from a drone "similar to those used by the Russian army" on its territory.

Yesterday, Romanian soldiers found the remains of a drone in the area of ​​Plauru, in the Tulca district, in the southeast of Romania, near its border with Ukraine.

Secretary of State Julian Fota met with the Russian chargé d'affaires in Bucharest to convey to him a "protest regarding the violation of Romanian airspace," the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

Fota "strongly asked the Russian side to stop actions against the Ukrainian population and infrastructure, including those that would in any way threaten the security of Romanian citizens in the region."

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced yesterday that they had discussed the situation by phone.

"There is nothing to indicate that there was an intention to attack NATO, but the attacks are destabilizing," Stoltenberg said on social network X (formerly Twitter).

He also welcomed the US decision to send more F-16 fighters to protect and monitor NATO-controlled airspace.

Iohannis condemned the violation of Romania's sovereign airspace, which, he added, "poses a threat to Romanian citizens" living in the region.

Romania has increased the surveillance and security of its airspace after repeated Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports and infrastructure on the Danube.

The remains of the drone were found earlier, at the beginning of last week, also in Plaur, near the Ukrainian port of Izmail, a few kilometers from where they were found on Saturday, and are being analyzed.

On Wednesday, it was reported for the first time that it is possible that the remains of a drone were found, and previously, Romania has repeatedly rejected Kiev's claims that Russian drones of Iranian production fell and exploded on its territory after striking the Ukrainian port of Izmail on Sunday evening.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, NATO has been trying to avoid the expansion of the war to the member countries of the Alliance. According to Article XNUMX of the founding treaty of NATO, any attack on a member country entails a collective response of the organization, which represents the risk of being drawn into a war against Russia, which is a nuclear power, reminds the Agence France Presse.