Romania boosts military presence on Ukraine border amid rising Russian threats

Romania is strengthening its military presence along the Danube border with Ukraine in response to an uptick in Russian drone incursions, Defence Minister Radu Miruță said. Depending on the evolving threat level, additional troops may be deployed in the region in the coming months.

“No country can reduce the risk of a drone attack to zero,” Miruță told Digi24, emphasizing that there remains a small but real possibility that Russian drones could reach populated areas in Romania.

The minister explained that the Romanian Army is gradually expanding its air defence deployment near the border, including several dozen military personnel, radars, and Gepard anti-aircraft systems capable of tracking and neutralizing hostile drones.

“We are strengthening the deployment in the area [Dobrogea, border land with Ukraine] with both personnel and equipment. Relocating existing assets to where strategic analysis indicates the risk is increasing. Positioning firing units in areas from which Romania’s inhabited zones can be protected, because one risk is a drone getting through and exploding in the reeds of the Delta, and another risk is a drone getting through in the middle of a village. In order for these events to be more likely to happen in reeds and uninhabited areas, and not on rooftops, the Romanian Army is making efforts. Yes, I will say this very openly: despite all efforts, there is a risk that we may see drones in inhabited areas, but the risk is small. The question is: can you guarantee that it won’t happen? No! We work with probabilities and with the capabilities available,” he said.

The most recent incident occurred last week when a Russian drone crashed in a yard in Vrancea County, nearly 200 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The house was unoccupied, and the drone fragments were discovered by a woman who called emergency services. The aircraft had not been detected by Army radar, leaving authorities uncertain about when the drone actually fell.

For the first time since the start of the war, a Romanian Defence Ministry official acknowledged that not all Russian drones can be detected.

“The discussion about drones must be held with all the cards on the table. There are situations in which certain drones, in certain areas, cannot be seen on radar, and we must say this clearly. This is not unique to Romania; it happens everywhere. These drones, which are made of foam or cardboard, have no reflective surface, meaning the radar wave is absorbed and does not return. Another issue is terrain. Depending on the terrain and altitude, these objects may be less visible or not visible at all. The fact that news of this kind does not appear every day is because the Army is doing its job very well,” Miruță explained.

He added that Romania’s military continuously receives air alerts, and responses include scrambling F-16 fighter jets or activating ground-based systems to neutralize threats. “If it were not for what the Romanian Army is doing, you would see news about drones every day,” he said.

US troops have also deployed the MEROPS system in Romania, an AI-powered system that detects Russian aircraft and launches drones to intercept them. MEROPS can cover gaps in Romania’s air defence and detect aircraft with low or no metal content flying at low altitudes.

Over the past four years, Romanian authorities have recorded 70 attacks in the Danube area and at least 14 instances of Russian drones entering Romanian airspace. In recent months, the Ministry of National Defence has increasingly deployed modern troops and equipment to the Ukrainian border to strengthen the country’s defences.

By Vafa Guliyeva