Drone explodes in Romanian port as Ukraine blames Russia for jamming it

BUCHAREST, June 5 (Reuters) – A sea drone self-destructed near an oil terminal in Romania’s Black Sea port ‌of Constanta on Friday, without causing casualties, as Ukraine said Russia jammed the vessel causing it to drift off course.

The explosion was the second major incident in a populated area in Romania on NATO’s eastern flank within a week as the spillover threat from the war in Ukraine increases.

Ukraine’s navy said one of its drones lost control in the ​Black Sea as a result of Russian electronic warfare. It contacted Romania to warn them and prevent casualties, it said.

Romanian Defence Minister Radu ​Miruta said that warning allowed a timely evacuation.

President Nicusor Dan pinned the blame on Russia and said another ⁠three drones that Ukraine lost control of had also detonated off the coast and there was no longer any danger.

“The entry ​of this drone into Romanian sovereign space is a direct consequence of the war waged by Russia against Ukraine,” the Romanian leader ​said on social media accounts.

The explosion took place a week after authorities said a Russian drone crashed into an apartment building in the southeastern Romanian city of Galati, near the border with Ukraine, injuring two people – the first time in the war that a drone has struck a densely populated area ​in a NATO state.

Following the latest incident, Russia’s embassy in Romania said on Friday it was not involved and the drones were not Russian.

The Black Sea is crucial for shipments of grain, oil and oil products and is shared by Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia and Turkey, ‌as well ⁠as Ukraine and Russia.

The Constanta port is Romania’s largest, with 156 berths and 32 km (19 miles) of quays. Ukraine has been using it as an alternative grain export route, as well as for fuel imports.

Romania’s defence ministry said the drone exploded at 10:30 a.m. (0730 GMT), around four hours after it was alerted to its presence. It detonated 500 metres away from an oil terminal.

The port was evacuated and over 1,000 people were removed from beaches on ​the Black Sea and the nearby ​Danube Delta as a precaution, ⁠while ships and two helicopters surveyed the area for additional drones, deputy Interior Minister Raed Arafat told a briefing.

Restrictions were lifted later in the day after no other risks were detected.

European Union member Romania shares a 650 km (400 miles) land border ​with Ukraine and ⁠has seen Russian drones repeatedly breach its airspace as well as mines float across key trade and energy routes since Moscow’s full-scale invasion four years ago.

Earlier this week, Romania’s navy detonated a Russian YaRM-type anti-landing mine that had drifted to shore.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X ⁠that Russia’s ​war was increasingly becoming a direct threat to countries on Europe’s eastern border.

“This ​incident shows once again that Russia’s ongoing full-scale aggression poses a threat not only to Ukraine, but to the entire region,” a spokesperson for Ukraine’s foreign ministry said ​on X.