Romania scrambled F-16 fighter jets to destroy a marine drone spotted a few hundred metres from the Black Sea gas project Neptun Deep, Defence Minister Radu Miruta said on Thursday.
The decision was taken to protect the lives of several hundred people working on the platform and to secure critical infrastructure, Miruta said in a Facebook post.
He did not state the origin of the drone but said Ukraine had confirmed that it did not belong to its forces.
Romanian President Nicusor Dan blamed Russia. "I strongly condemn the intensification of these types of irresponsible incidents on the part of the Russian Federation," he wrote in a separate statement. "We remain vigilant alongside NATO allies to defend ourselves and repel such challenges."
The incident follows similar action earlier this month when army divers destroyed two Gerbera-type drones drifting in the exclusive economic zone near the offshore Neptun Deep project.
Neptun Deep is jointly owned by OMV Petrom and state gas producer Romgaz. It is expected to make Romania the European Union's largest gas producer when it comes onstream in 2027.
NATO-member Romania shares a border with Ukraine and has previously reported Russian drones breaching its airspace and mines floating in the Black Sea.
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