NATO will step up monitoring of its eastern flank following drone explosions in Romania

The NATO North Atlantic Council held an emergency meeting to address the security situation in the Black Sea region. The allies paid particular attention to incidents involving drones that flew into Romanian territory from the combat zone. The official meeting was convened at Bucharest’s initiative following two serious incidents that threatened the safety of the civilian population. 

The Romanian side called on its partners to urgently provide additional technical means to protect its air and maritime space.

During the meeting, Romanian diplomatic representatives appealed to the Alliance to promptly strengthen defense capabilities on the eastern flank. The country needs additional supplies of modern radar systems and electronic warfare equipment for intercepting and shooting down UAVs. The authorities’ concerns stem from a recent strike by a Russian “Geran-2” drone on a residential high-rise in Galați, which resulted in casualties, as well as the explosion of a Ukrainian naval drone in the port of Constanta, which veered off course due to enemy electronic warfare (EW) measures.

In her official statement on the X platform, the NATO spokesperson confirmed the Alliance’s unwavering readiness to defend every inch of allied territory. She noted that the Alliance is recording a significant increase in dangerous incidents involving unmanned aerial and maritime vehicles near the borders of member states, which is a direct consequence of the war being waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine. Currently, NATO’s defense department, in close cooperation with Bucharest, is developing a plan for the accelerated deployment of additional air defense assets and the intensification of patrols in the Black Sea ahead of the July summit in Ankara.

This was reported by the Romanian TV channel Digi24. 

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