Romania deploys air defense on the Danube due to constant Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian ports

Romania is moving its air defense assets closer to its settlements on the Danube because Russian drones are constantly attacking grain complexes in the Ukrainian ports of Reni and Izmail. This was reported by Reuters.

Romania will also increase the number of military posts and patrols in the settlements bordering Ukraine.

“These measures, along with the deployment of four additional U.S. F-16 fighter jets and the expansion of the no-fly zone, are a sign of growing concern in NATO member Romania that the war in Ukraine could spill over into their territory,” the publication notes.

Reuters recalls that last November a missile hit Poland, killing two people and causing a short-term security threat, although it was later determined that Ukrainian air defense was to blame.

Now Romania is suffering from constant Russian attacks on port infrastructure in Odesa region.

After pulling out of the grain deal on July 17, Moscow began targeting Ukrainian ports and warehouses along the Danube in an attempt to cut off the main alternative route for Ukrainian agricultural exports.

Among the targets were the Ukrainian ports of Izmail and Reni, both of which are located across the Danube from Romanian territory.

“The wreckage of Russian drones in Romania underscores the risk of conflict between Russia and NATO, prompting the Romanian armed forces to increase security in the area to protect civilians,” senior officials from the Romanian Ministry of Defense told the publication.

In addition, Romanian authorities have built two bomb shelters in the small village of Plauru, just a few hundred meters from Izmail, and local residents receive alerts on their cell phones when Russian drones are headed toward Odesa region.

In a statement last Friday, Romania’s Defense Ministry said that about 100 U.S. troops and four F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft had arrived at the Borca military air base, about 150 km south of Izmail.

Since mid-September, the ministry has also expanded the no-fly zone along the Ukraine border to 30 km inside Romania and to an altitude of 4,000 meters as a means of deterring Russian drones from entering Romanian airspace.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Kyiv on Thursday that there is no evidence that the Russian strikes near the Ukraine-Romania border were a deliberate attack on Romania, but called them “reckless” and “destabilizing.”

Romanian defense ministry spokesman Constantin Spinu also said that there is no indication that Russia is targeting Romania, but the nature of the attacks on Ukrainian territory near the Romanian border does not guarantee that Russian drones will not fall on the territory of a NATO country again.

“They (Russian drones) fly at a very low altitude, sometimes less than 200 meters (above the ground)… they are built in such a way as to reflect radar waves the least. No country in the world can protect its airspace 100% from all means of attack,” he said.

Tags: Ukraine, Romania, war, Danube ports