What to Know:
Romania’s Ministry of Defense has announced that debris from Russian explosive drones has been recovered near the border with Ukraine along the Danube River.
Statements:
In a press statement, the Ministry reported “Following the execution of the research in the field, fragments of a drone similar to those used by the Russian army were discovered. The area was secured by the military, and the discovered elements will be picked up for analysis and technical expertise.”
The Ministry added that it “strongly condemns the attacks carried out by the Russian Federation against some objectives and elements of civil infrastructure in the Ukrainian ports on the Danube. These attacks are unjustified and in serious contradiction with the rules of international humanitarian law, being war crimes.”
Meanwhile, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis released a statement about the discovery, saying that “The identification today by the Romanian authorities on the territory of Romania, near the border with Ukraine, of new fragments of a drone, similar to those used by the Russian army, indicates that there has been an absolutely unacceptable violation of the sovereign airspace of Romania, an allied state NATO, with real risks to the security of Romanian citizens in the area. I strongly condemn this incident caused by the Russian attacks on the Ukrainian ports on the Danube!”
“I had a telephone conversation with the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, during which I informed him about the new developments, and he reaffirmed full solidarity with Romania and reassured that the North Atlantic Alliance and The Allies are fully with Romania, as was proven, for example, by the recent decision of the USA to increase its presence in Romania with F-16 aircraft as part of the Air Police mission in our country,” Iohannis added.
Background:
Last week, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry claimed that Russian drones detonated in Romanian territory during an attack against the Ukrainian port of Izmail.
Romania initially denied that the drones had fallen into their territory, with Iohannis saying that the strikes were “verified 800 meters (yards) from our border, so very, very close.” Likewise, the Ministry of Defense stated that “At no time did Russia’s means of attack generate direct military threats on Romanian national territory or waters.”
However, geolocated footage has shown a detonation across the border.
GeoConfirmed UKR – Investigation.
The claim:
In the early morning of 04 SEP a Russian Shahed crashed and exploded inside Romania (NATO member).
Russia was attacking Izmail Port (next to the Romanian border).Our volunteers looked into this. ?
1/X pic.twitter.com/yvzgcY7Amv
— GeoConfirmed (@GeoConfirmed) September 5, 2023
Why it Matters:
Strikes, intentional or unintentional, against a NATO member state could trigger a series of articles with political and military consequences. In NATO doctrine, the triggering of Article 4 will convene NATO members to address threats against national security. Likewise, Article 5 is an “attack against one is an attack against all” doctrine that could see direct military retaliation.
Poland, for example, has had two incidents where both Russian and Ukrainian missiles fell into its territory, with the latter resulting in the deaths of two civilian farmers. In both instances no NATO articles were invoked, as neither incidents were deemed intentional.
As stated above, Romania’s Defense Ministry said that the recent drone strikes did not “generate direct military threats” against the country. The ports of Reni, which has also been subject to drone attacks, and Izmail sits directly on the border, so continued Russian strikes will likely result in further incidents of drones or drone debris crossing into Romania, albeit unintentional. With the current situation, article 5 will likely not be invoked, as this was an attack directed against Ukraine and not Romania itself. Romania could invoke Article 4, but has not signaled any intent to do so as of right now.
