Romania’s authorities have admitted that parts of a drone were found in the country, after initially denying Ukraine’s claims that a Russian drone entered and exploded on Romanian territory.

The country’s authorities played down “the incident” in line with their strategy of avoiding escalation, at the cost of public criticism for contradictory statements that may be interpreted as a result of weak airspace monitoring capacity.

Romania’s Minister of Defense Angel Tilvar admitted on September 6 that objects "that can be associated with drone-type equipment" were found on Romania's territory and that technical checks are needed to accurately establish their origin.

Tilvar claimed that the situation is "primarily attributable to Russia because it has repeatedly attacked the port and civil infrastructures [on the territory of Ukraine]”.

The drone had no explosive charge and may have been used for espionage, sources involved in the investigation launched by the Romanian authorities told Digi24.ro.

After the first investigations by experts of the Defence Ministry (MApN), it seems that the drone flew at a low altitude, which is why it did not appear on the radars, and it is possible that it was damaged and lost control.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba said on September 4 that his country has photographic evidence showing that Russian drones struck Romanian territory during a drone attack on infrastructure in the Ukrainian port of Ismail on the Danube.

Ismail and Ukraine’s other Danube ports have been repeatedly targeted by Russia in an effort to stop Ukraine from exporting its grain crop and other products. Earlier this week, Ukraine’s rail operator said that cargo shipments to Ismail have been restricted due to the bombardment.