Sofia: Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev on Saturday confirmed that an unidentified drone exploded not too far from a Trans-Balkan gas pipeline near the former Kardam border checkpoint close to Romania, local media reported.
According to Radev, the drone exploded just one kilometre away from a compressor station of the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline, near the former Kardam border checkpoint, after entering Bulgarian Airspace from Romania, Euronews reported.
“Noise made by the drone was detected by Romanian border police, and a loud explosion was subsequently heard by the ‘General Toshevo’ border police patrol,” Radev told reporters.
He also noted that both Bulgarian and Romanian authorities had failed to detect the drone as it made its way through the airspaces of two countries. He added that increased surveillance operations will be put in place in the region from now on.
To identify the type of drone involved in the explosion, an investigation has been launched into the incident.
In July, three drones that entered Romanian airspace without authorisation were shot down in three separate incidents.
According to the Ministry of National Defence of Romania, the third drone was shot down 12 km northeast of Sulina, within Romania’s territorial waters.
According to the investigation conducted by the General Prosecutor’s Office, one of the drones shot down is of the Shahed type, used by Russia against Ukraine.
After the incident, Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) declared a member of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest undesirable (persona non grata) and ordered the member to leave the country.
The Foreign Ministry also summoned the Ambassador of Russia to its headquarters upon the instructions of Romanian Foreign Minister Oana-Silvia Toiu.
During the meeting, the Romanian side expressed its firm protest against these “illegal and irresponsible” actions and emphasised the clear attribution of responsibility.
“The summoning came as a firm response to the repeated violations of Romania’s airspace between 24 and 26 July 2026, during which the Romanian Armed Forces downed three drones that entered national territory without authorisation. The Russian diplomat was presented with fragments of a drone destroyed on Romanian territory, components which official prosecutor investigations have confirmed to be of Russian origin,” the ministry stated on X.
(IANS)
