Romania Finds New Possible Fragments of Russian Drone on Its Territory

In this image released by the Romanian Defense Ministry, Defense Minister Angel Tilvar, second from left, visits areas in the Danube Delta close to the Ukrainian border, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (Romanian Defense Ministry via AP)
In this image released by the Romanian Defense Ministry, Defense Minister Angel Tilvar, second from left, visits areas in the Danube Delta close to the Ukrainian border, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (Romanian Defense Ministry via AP)
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Romania Finds New Possible Fragments of Russian Drone on Its Territory

In this image released by the Romanian Defense Ministry, Defense Minister Angel Tilvar, second from left, visits areas in the Danube Delta close to the Ukrainian border, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (Romanian Defense Ministry via AP)
In this image released by the Romanian Defense Ministry, Defense Minister Angel Tilvar, second from left, visits areas in the Danube Delta close to the Ukrainian border, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (Romanian Defense Ministry via AP)

New fragments of a drone similar to those used by the Russian military were found on Romanian soil, the defense ministry said on Saturday, and President Klaus Iohannis said this indicated an unacceptable breach of Romania's air space had occurred.

In a statement, Iohannis said he had informed NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg about the pieces of drone - the second to crash in Romanian territory this week - and that Stoltenberg reiterated the alliance's complete solidarity with Romania.

"The identification by Romanian authorities on Romanian territory near the border with Ukraine of new drone fragments ... indicates an unacceptable breach occurred of the air space of Romania, a NATO state, with real risks to the security of Romanian citizens in the area," Iohannis said.

"I firmly condemn this incident caused by Russian attacks on Ukrainian Danube river ports."

The attacks on Ukraine's river ports, just hundreds of meters from the Romanian border, have increased security risks for NATO whose members have a mutual defense commitment.

The US State Department said earlier this week it would rotate additional US F-16 fighter jets to bolster NATO's air policing mission in Romania.

The defense ministry said Romania's Naval Forces deployed search teams after local authorities alerted them to suspected drone fragments discovered 2.5 km southeast of the village of Plauru, across the Danube from the Ukrainian port of Izmail.

The military has secured the area and the fragments will be analyzed, it said in a statement.

Since July, when Moscow abandoned a deal that lifted a de facto Russian blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports, it has repeatedly struck Ukrainian river ports that lie across the Danube from Romania.

Ukraine is one of the world's biggest grain exporters and Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta is now its largest alternative export route, with grains arriving by road, rail or barge across the Danube.

Ukraine had said on Monday that drones detonated in Romania during an overnight Russian air strike on Ukraine's Izmail, but Romanian officials initially denied the reports before finding fragments on Wednesday.



Vatican Cancels Pope’s Weekend Engagements as He Battles ‘Complex’ Infection 

Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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Vatican Cancels Pope’s Weekend Engagements as He Battles ‘Complex’ Infection 

Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

Pope Francis, who began his fifth day in hospital on Tuesday for what doctors have described as a "complex" respiratory infection, will not take part in this weekend's Holy Year events, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

The 88-year-old pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Friday.

A planned public papal audience set for Saturday had been cancelled "due to the health condition of the Holy Father", the Vatican said in a brief statement.

A papal mass scheduled for Sunday will still take place, but will be led instead by a senior Vatican official, it added.

The Vatican said on Monday that doctors had changed the pope's drug therapy for the second time during his hospital stay to tackle a "complex clinical situation". They described it as a "polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract".

Doctors say polymicrobial diseases can be caused by a mix of viruses, bacteria and fungi.

Francis, who has been pontiff since 2013, has had influenza and other health problems several times over the past two years. As a young adult he developed pleurisy and had part of one lung removed, and in recent times has been prone to lung infections.