PM Ciolacu: Romania not endangered by Russian drone whose remains fell in Plauru area

Romania was not endangered at any time by the Russian drone whose remains fell in the area of the town of Plauru in Tulcea County, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said.The PM made this statement on Friday in a press conference after a working visit to the Ministry of Agriculture, when asked if the Romanian authorities had taken additional measures after the incident involving the crash of debris from a Russian drone in the Plauru area."There was no issue regarding the safety of Romanians. The direction of this drone was known around 1:55 AM, and F16 planes were deployed. There was not the slightest problem, it was monitored well before entering Romania's territory, and I saw that the Ministry of Defence issued a statement and specified this. Romania was not put at risk at any time. In fact, after expert analysis, it will most likely be determined that it was hit by Ukrainian artillery," said Marcel Ciolacu.   Russian forces have resumed a series of drone attacks on civilian targets and port infrastructure in Ukraine on Friday morning, near the border with Romania, in Tulcea County, as specialist teams discovered, outside the town of Plauru - between Ceatalchioi and Tudor Vladimirescu - traces of a possible drone impact.According to a Romanian Defence Ministry (MApN) press release, the area was secured, and teams made up of specialists from the MApN, the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs will collect evidence and carry out investigations.MApN says that its monitoring and surveillance systems had signaled violations of the Romanian airspace and, as a result of this situation, two F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force, in the Air Police Combat Service, took off from the 86th Air Base in Borcea to monitor the air situation. The aircraft returned to the base around 03:48hrsAt the same time, the National Military Command Center notified the General Emergency Management Inspectorate over the establishment of measures to alert the population in Tulcea County. As a result, a RO-Alert message was sent, and at 03:30hrs the cessation of the alert was declared in all the areas concerned.MApN forces will continue the airspace monitoring and research missions in the areas where risks may arise as a result of such situations. Also MApPN adds that it has informed and informs in real time the NATO structures about the situations generated by the attacks, staying n permanent contact with them.MApN is also sending a strong message of condemnation of these attacks carried out by the Russian Federation against Ukrainian civilian facilities and infrastructure, which are unjustified and in serious contradiction with the norms of international law.   În turn, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) strongly condemns the irresponsible attacks by Russian forces that violate all norms of international law and emphasises that Russia's illegal and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine generates risks for the entire region.The statement is made in the context in which on Friday morning, in the vicinity of the border with Romania, in Tulcea county, the monitoring and surveillance systems of the Ministry of National Defence signaled violations of the Romanian airspace, when Russian forces resumed the series of drone attacks on civilian targets and port infrastructure in Ukraine."Respect for sovereignty, security and peace are obligations that the Russian Federation systematically and unprovokedly violates. The persistent aggressive actions, the illegal occupation of some of its neighbours' territories and the illegal war that Russia has been waging on a large scale for almost three years against a sovereign neighbour represent a persistent and serious threat not only to Ukraine but to the entire region of the Black Sea and the Eastern Flank of the North Atlantic Alliance," the MAE said.The MAE and the Ministry of Defence recall that they have informed and are informing the allied structures in real time about the situations caused by the attacks and remain in permanent contact with them.According to the MAE, teams of specialists discovered on Friday, outside the Plauru locality in Tulcea county, traces of a possible drone impact.