Portugal, Slovakia Offer Drone Defense Aid to Romania After Attacks

Romania is bolstering its drone defenses with new offers of equipment from Portugal and Slovakia, according to President Nicușor Dan. These additions expand on prior commitments from the United States and France, with Italy and Spain also having pledged support.

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In the course of this morning's meeting at NATO, we have two more states that have offered to provide equipment for Romania's defense against drones.

The increased assistance comes in the wake of recent drone attacks on Romanian territory. On June 5, a maritime drone detonated in the Port of Constanța, damaging a ship and nearby structures. Earlier, a Russian drone crashed into an apartment building in Galați, injuring two residents. Ukrainian authorities had reportedly warned Romania about the explosive nature of the Constanța drone shortly before its detonation.

Radar data indicated the drone that crashed in Galați deviated from its formation near the Ukrainian city of Reni, entering Romanian airspace before disappearing from radar and subsequently exploding. The drone was identified as a Geran-2, a Russian variant of the Iranian Shahed-136, known for its kamikaze attacks and difficulty in low-altitude interception. Romanian military aircraft were scrambled for monitoring.

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The EU will not be intimidated by Russia's campaign and is united in its determination to defend the security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all EU member states and to continue supporting Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning Russia's hybrid warfare and affirming the EU's commitment to defending its member states' security and sovereignty. The resolution specifically expressed solidarity with Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania, which have faced Russian hybrid provocations targeting their territories, airspace, or critical infrastructure.

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The drone was hit 'probably' earlier by Ukrainian defense over the city of Reni, which would have modified its trajectory and diverted it towards Romania.