Romanian military destroys armed naval drone in Black Sea

The Romanian military has destroyed a naval drone, according to government reports. Romania's Defense Minister Radu Miruță said an F-16 fighter jet hit the drone over the Black Sea as it was several hundred meters away from the Neptune Deep gas field. It was loaded with explosives.

Miruță wrote on Facebook that the Romanian coast guard had discovered the drone. The Defense Ministry then coordinated with NATO. After coordination with President Nicușor Dan, the decision was made to destroy the drone - to protect the critical infrastructure and the people who work on the Neptun Deep funding platform. Agreements with Ukraine revealed that the drone did not come from there.

Romanian president speaks of escalation by Russia

President Dan blamed Russia for the incident. On X he spoke of an “escalation of such irresponsible incidents by the Russian Federation.” Together with its NATO allies, Romania remains vigilant to defend itself and "ward off such provocations," Dan wrote. The use of the F-16 was a “race against time” to protect the lives of the workers on the offshore platform. According to the government in Bucharest, hundreds of people are currently working on the gas field, which is scheduled to be commissioned in 2027.

In view of the incident, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of “hybrid warfare”. An “escalating campaign of threats” is currently taking place, the aim of which is to divide the EU. In order to be able to react quickly and decisively to new threats, the European Union is currently increasing its drone defense capabilities.