Ukraine hit "very, very close" to NATO border as Romania responds: "We are alert"
Bucharest, Romania – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said Tuesday that attacks in neighboring Ukraine happened "very, very close" to its border and NATO territory, with Russia repeatedly launching drone strikes on Danube infrastructure in southern Ukraine.
"We had attacks... which were verified at 800 metres (2,600 feet) from our border. So very, very close," Iohannis told a joint press conference with Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.
On Monday, the NATO member country had denied claims by Kyiv that Iranian-made Russian drones fell and detonated on Romanian territory during a strike on the Ukrainian port of Izmail over the weekend.
"There was no piece, and no drone and no other part of any device that made it to Romania," Iohannis said at Tuesday's press conference, echoing comments Monday by the defense ministry.
"But yes, we are concerned because these attacks are taking place within a very short distance from the Romanian border," Iohannis added, speaking from the Cincu military base in central Romania.
"But we are alert," he said.
Bucharest has strongly condemned the Russian attacks on Ukraine's Danube infrastructure.
Following the collapse in July of the United Nations-brokered deal allowing grain shipments from Black Sea ports, Moscow has ramped up attacks on Ukraine's southern Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, home to ports and infrastructure vital for agriculture exports.
Cover photo: Collage: REUTERS & DANIEL MIHAILESCU / AFP