Ukrainian forces lost a naval drone during an operation in the Black Sea on Friday after its guidance was disrupted by Russian electronic warfare, sending the vessel off course and into a large Romanian port, where it exploded.
It’s the latest instance of Ukrainian drones accidentally ending up in NATO territory, which Kyiv and Western officials have blamed on Russian interference.
The Ukrainian Navy said one of its naval drones “lost control” under the influence of Russian electronic warfare during a mission in the Black Sea and ended up near Romanian shores.
Romania’s defense ministry said a naval drone was discovered in the Constanța civilian port and “self-detonated” at 10:30 a.m. local time without causing casualties. Constanța is a major European port in the contested Black Sea.
Romanian President Nicușor Dan confirmed that Ukraine lost control of the drone during a combat operation because of Russian electronic warfare and said Kyiv shared information with Bucharest to help aid an evacuation of the area.
“The entry of this drone into Romanian sovereign space represents a direct consequence of the war waged by Russia against Ukraine,” the Romanian president said in a statement.
He said three other Ukrainian naval drones “went out of control” on Friday and blew up; one in the Constanța port, one outside the harbor, and two roughly 90 miles offshore. There were no casualties or significant damage, Dan said.
Ukraine operates a fleet of naval drones — they are typically armed with explosives, missiles, or other weaponry — that it has used to attack Russian naval vessels and ports in the Black Sea. The wayward drone incidents suggest Russian defenses have evolved to exploit vulnerabilities in the drones’ guidance or control systems.
Heorhii Tykhyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s foreign ministry, said in a statement that the incident underscores “once again that Russia’s ongoing full-scale aggression poses a threat not only to Ukraine, but to the entire region.”
Kyrylo Chubotin/Ukrinform/NurPhoto
Neither Russia’s defense ministry nor its US embassy responded to a request for comment.
Ukraine has blamed Russian electronic warfare for causing its drones to stray off course and cross into NATO airspace — specifically, over the Baltic states — on multiple occasions in recent weeks.
In early May, for instance, Ukrainian aerial drones struck empty oil storage facilities in Latvia, a Baltic NATO ally. Kyiv said Russian electronic warfare “deliberately” diverted its drones from their targets in Russia.
Later that month, Romanian fighter jets shot down what was believed to be a Ukrainian drone in Estonian airspace. Tallinn said it occurred amid Russian electronic warfare, such as GPS spoofing and jamming. GPS spoofing attempts to confuse a drone’s guidance section about its location, while jamming refers to efforts to effectively block its control frequencies by blasting them with noise.
Electronic interference in the Baltic region has been common since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, affecting both military and civilian movement.
The repeated drone incursions come as Kyiv has intensified its long-range attacks on Russian energy sites. Moscow has accused Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania of allowing Ukraine to use their airspace for its operations, which the three Baltic states have denied.
Russian drones have also repeatedly breached NATO territory. Just in late May, a Geran-2 (also known as Shahed) one-way attack drone hit a residential building in Romania, officials said, injuring people and causing damage.
NATO launched a new security mission in September 2025 to protect its Eastern flank after dozens of Russian drones crossed into Polish airspace. The military alliance has since surged fighter jets, warships, and other air defense assets to countries bordering Russia.
