Romanian divers blow up Russian drones found near Europe's key offshore gas project

Romanian army divers used explosives to destroy two Russian-made drones found floating in the Black Sea near the country's largest natural gas project, according to the defense minister.

The drones were spotted in the water by a vessel working near the Neptun Deep offshore gas field, which is set to make Romania the biggest gas producer in the European Union. A Romanian Coast Guard ship carrying soldiers arrived at the scene and found two drifting Gerbera-type drones of Russian design along with other debris.

Defense Minister Radu Miruță posted a Facebook video appearing to show one of the drones being blown up by explosive ordnance disposal divers on August 11. He also said Romania had contacted Ukrainian partners, who confirmed the systems did not belong to them.

The war in Ukraine, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, has caused repeated incidents of drones straying across borders of European nations such as Romania, either accidentally or deliberately. Dozens of Russian drone incursions into Romanian airspace have occasionally caused damage and forced the country to scramble fighter jets to shoot down some of the wayward aircraft.

In one of the most serious incidents, a Russian Geran-2 drone carrying an explosive payload struck an apartment building in southeastern Romania on May 29, injuring a child and a woman and forcing 70 people to evacuate. Another earlier Russian drone strike damaged a workshop and an electricity pole, leading to the evacuation of more than 500 people.