Marine drone self-detonates in Romanian port

A maritime drone of the type used in the war in neighbouring Ukraine self-detonated on Friday in Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta near an oil terminal, without causing any casualties, officials said.

The explosion was the second major incident in a populated area ​in just a week as the spillover threat increases from the war in Ukraine, which has been fighting against ​a Russian invasion since 2022.

Romanian officials did not specify whether the drone was of Ukrainian or ⁠Russian origin.

News website www.g4media.ro cited Constanta county prefect Adrian Teodor Picoiu saying Ukraine had notified Romania that the drone was part ​of a group of five, with one exploding in Ukraine.

Authorities in Ukraine did not immediately comment while Russia's embassy in Romania said ​in a statement the drones were Ukrainian naval unmanned aerial vehicles.

The explosion comes 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 struck a densely populated area in a NATO state.

PORT IS ROMANIA'S LARGEST, KEY FOR UKRAINE

Romania's defence ministry said earlier the ​object self-detonated at 10:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) and was not part of the Romanian army's equipment nor involved in recent Black Sea exercises.

The port, ‌Romania's largest, ⁠was evacuated, residents were warned to avoid the Black Sea coast, while ships and two helicopters were surveying the area, deputy Interior Minister Raed Arafat told a briefing.

"We are not panicking, our measures are purely preventative," Arafat told reporters.

'SECOND SIGNIFICANT SECURITY INCIDENT'

European Union member Romania shares a 650-km (400-mile) land border with Ukraine and has seen Russian drones repeatedly breach its airspace since Moscow attacked Kyiv ​four years ago, as well ​as mines floating in the ⁠Black Sea across key trade and energy routes.

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

"This is the second significant security incident ​this week on the Romanian seaside," Romanian President Nicusor Dan said on Facebook just after ​news of the ⁠detonation.

European Commission Prsident Ursula von der Leyen said on X that Russia's war in Ukraine was increasingly becoming a direct threat to countries on Europe's eastern border.

The drone detonated some 500 metres away from an oil terminal.

Ukraine has been using Constanta - which has 156 berths ⁠and 32 ​km of quays - as an alternative grain export route, as well as ​for fuel imports.

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.

-Reuters