A Russian Shahed kamikaze drone exploded on the territory of Romania near the village of Plaura.

This is reported by the official website of the Ministry of National Defense of Romania.

During a combined missile strike on Ukraine, on the morning of January 17, 2025, a Russian kamikaze drone violated Romanian airspace in Tulcea County, near the border with Ukraine, at about 1:35 am.

The airspace violation was detected by the Ministry’s monitoring and surveillance systems, after which two F-16 fighter jets of the Romanian Air Force took to the skies.

The planes took off from the 86th Air Base in Borca at 1:45 a.m. to monitor the air situation and conduct patrols and returned to the base at 3:48 a.m.

As part of the ongoing investigation, the Romanian Ministry of National Defense found traces of a possible drone strike near the border, outside the village of Plauru (between Căatalcaia and Tudor Vladimirescu).

The area is currently under guard, and teams consisting of specialists from the Ministry of National Defense, the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are working there. After collecting relevant evidence and conducting an investigation, a conclusion will be announced in accordance with the applicable procedures.

“We strongly condemn these attacks by the Russian Federation on certain objects and elements of Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. These attacks are unjustified and seriously contradict the norms of International Law, “ representatives of the Ministry of National Defense of Romania noted.

This is not the first time that a Russian kamikaze drone has flown into Romanian airspace.

For example, in July 2024, Romanian Foreign Minister Luminica Odobescu announced that the wreckage of Shahed-type attack drones that Russia had used to attack the Odesa region on the night of July 25 had been found.

On the same day, the media reported that wreckage had been found near the village of Plauru, which probably belonged to Russian Shahed/Geranium attack drones.

Also in September 2024, the Romanian Ministry of National Defense reported that it had been searching for more remnants of Russian kamikaze drones due to the renewed increase in attacks on the border areas of Ukraine, as a result of which some drones had fallen into Romania.