Romanian army divers used explosives to destroy two Russian-made Gerbera-type drones found floating in the Black Sea near Romania's largest natural gas project, Neptun Deep. The drones were first spotted in the water by a ship working in the vicinity of the project.
Romanian Defense Minister Radu Miruță posted a Facebook video on August 11 showing explosive ordnance disposal divers of the Romanian army destroying one of the drones. He said Romania reached out to Ukrainian partners, who confirmed that the drones do not belong to them.
The Neptun Deep project aims to make Romania the EU's largest gas producer.
The Neptun Deep offshore gas project is scheduled to start production in 2027.
The Neptun Deep project is designed to double Romania's gas production. It is intended to make Romania the largest gas producer in the European Union.
The incident follows previous Russian drone strikes on Romanian territory. In one attack on May 29, a Russian Geran-2 drone with an explosive payload struck an apartment building in southeastern Romania, injuring a child and a woman and forcing 70 people to evacuate. A separate strike damaged a workshop and an electricity pole and forced over 500 people to evacuate.
Gerbera-type drones are of Russian design and are commonly used by the Russian military for one-way drone strikes, reconnaissance, and as decoys during attacks on Ukrainian cities, according to a report.
The discovery comes after an explosive drone attempted to attack a Ukrainian cargo aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany one week prior to the Romanian incident. US intelligence officials told The Wall Street Journal that Russia was most likely responsible for that attack.
Dozens of Russian drone incursions into Romanian airspace have caused damage and required fighter jet interceptions.
