President Nicusor Dan holds Moscow liable for Constanta drone blast
A Ukrainian maritime drone exploded in Romania's Port of Constanța on Friday, June 5. Romanian President Nicușor Dan announced that while the vector belonged to Ukraine, the Russian Federation bears ultimate responsibility for the security incident.
The statement followed a high-level working meeting convened to analyze the detonation of the explosive-laden vessel within Romanian territorial waters. Authorities confirmed that the device was part of a cluster of tactical assets operating in the Black Sea theater.
Geopolitical responsibility
"We had a long meeting both on yesterday's event, and on the general context of how prepared we are for this type of event," President Nicușor Dan stated.
"First of all, it is certain now, we had a Ukrainian drone, part of a set of four Ukrainian drones that lost control, loaded with explosives," the Head of State added. "However, we must say it very clearly, Ukraine is the aggressed country. For any kind of events that appear, the responsible party is Russia, because Russia is the aggressor country in this war and Ukraine defends itself as it manages to do so."
Emergency protocols
National security forces acted immediately to secure the critical infrastructure. Operations began at 06:47, focusing on clearing civilian personnel and relocating commercial vessels anchored near the hazard zone.
"This type of situation is provided for in some protocols and activities started according to the protocols," President Dan explained.
Intelligence units indicated at 10:00 that the maritime drone was scheduled to self-detonate at 10:26. Emergency teams attempting to neutralize the vessel's communications and tow it to a military testing range evacuated the perimeter minutes before the blast occurred. The presidency dismissed claims of poor inter-institutional coordination, confirming all state agencies followed the integrated response plan.
Incident details
The maritime drone was initially spotted at approximately 05:50 near the North Pier of the port. The device drifted close to the headquarters of the Romanian Association for Saving Human Life at Sea (ARSVOM).
Local authorities immediately activated the Red Intervention Plan following the emergency calls. The physical detonation occurred shortly after inside the port perimeter, specifically impacting the area surrounding berths 77 and 78.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
