That is the import of the widespread coverage in Western media of an incident on Aug. 20 in which two Romanian F-16 fighter jets scrambled after spotting a marine drone “loaded with explosives” heading toward the Romanian Black Sea Neptun Deep gas project, and proceeded to destroy the drone. Romania and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen both said the drone was Russian, although there is no confirmation or evidence to support that charge.
The DW article explained that “the Neptun Deep project, owned by OMV Petrom and state gas producer Romgaz, is expected to make Romania the EU’s largest gas producer when it comes online in 2027.”
A similar incident occurred on Aug. 16 when Romania’s Ministry of National Defense reported that a Spanish F-18 jet, which was part of a NATO air-patrol mission in Romania, had engaged a drone that allegedly entered Romanian airspace and shot it down—also blaming the Russians on that occasion.
Von der Leyen warned on Thursday that the EU was facing a “hybrid warfare” campaign and that it had to increase its defense capabilities to “deter provocation and aggression…. An escalating campaign of threats is underway, unsettling our citizens and seeking to divide our Union,” she added. Romanian President Nicusor Dan wrote on X, directly blaming Russia: “I strongly condemn the intensification of these types of irresponsible incidents on the part of the Russian Federation. We remain vigilant alongside NATO allies to defend ourselves and repel such challenges.”
Foreign Minister Toiu said Romania holds Russia “responsible for the risks that they pose” in the Black Sea and to the country’s energy infrastructure, CNN reported.
