Responding to Drone Debris
Romania is building air raid shelters in the border area
September 12, 2023, 9:48 p.m
After an official complaint to Moscow, Romania is taking the next step in the case surrounding the debris found from a Russian drone. From now on, nine meter long concrete bunkers on the border with Ukraine will offer the population protection.
After debris from a drone was found on its territory, Romania has started building air raid shelters on the border with Ukraine. In the village of Plauru opposite the Ukrainian Danube port of Izmail, the army has started work on building two concrete bunkers, the Defense Ministry said in Bucharest. Around 50 soldiers are involved.
According to the army, the bunkers, which are more than nine meters long, two meters wide and 1.5 meters high, will serve to “protect the population” and will be handed over to the local authorities once they are completed.
In Plauru, to the southwest, soldiers found debris from a drone on Saturday that is also used by the Russian military. Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis then accused Moscow of “violating airspace.” He also sought a conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. He stated that there was no evidence that Russia had specifically attacked the NATO country Romania.
The Romanian government also sent a protest note to Moscow. “The Secretary of State for Strategic Affairs Iulian Fota urged the Russian side to stop measures against the Ukrainian population and infrastructure, including those that would in any way endanger the security of Romanian citizens in the region,” Romanian media quoted as saying on Sunday a press release from the Foreign Ministry.
Ukrainian Danube ports not far from the border with Romania have become important export ports for Ukrainian grain since Russia canceled the grain agreement in July. The agreement allowed Ukraine to transport grain across the Black Sea despite the war. Since the withdrawal, the Russian army has increasingly attacked the Ukrainian port infrastructure on the Black Sea and the Danube.