Residents of a Romanian town near the Ukrainian border have been advised to take shelter in basements or concrete structures after fragments of a drone suspected to be of Russian origin were found in the area.
The Romanian defence ministry said it had detected a group of drones heading towards Ukrainian ports across the Danube River, which have been repeatedly attacked by Russia in recent weeks. The ministry also said it had summoned the Russian ambassador to Bucharest to protest against the drone incursions, which it called unacceptable and in violation of international law.
The town of Plauru, located in the Danube Delta, some 300 kilometers east of Bucharest, has been the most affected by the drone activity. Residents say they often hear explosions and anti-aircraft fire coming from the Ukrainian side of the border, just a few hundred metres away.
They also say they can feel the ground shaking when a drone approaches. “When the sirens wail at night, that’s when you should expect the drones to come,” Costica Tanase, a local farmer.
To protect the residents, the Romanian army has begun building air-raid shelters using concrete slabs and sandbags. Around 50 soldiers participated in erecting two shelters, each 10 meters long, 2 meters wide and 1.5 meters high. The shelters will be handed over to the local authorities once completed. The defence ministry said it had ordered the construction of the shelters after finding fragments of a drone “similar to those used by the Russian army” on a hill south of Plauru.
