Residents of the village of Parches, Somova commune, Tulcea County, say the drone that crashed on Wednesday night, about two kilometres from their homes, is the second to have flown over the area in the past week and that the previous night saw one of the longest Russian attacks in the Ukrainian border area near Romania.
On Wednesday night, people in northern Tulcea County received another RO-ALERT message amid the war launched by Russia against Ukraine, one of more than 60 such alerts issued since September 13, 2023.
"Last night, the explosions were louder. (...) I am now levelling the ground for a better yield. I sowed oats for the animals," said Daniel B., 27, the driver of a tractor ploughing land near the area where the drone was found.
The vegetation at the foot of the hill where he is working is burnt, and he said locals occasionally set fire to reeds, illegally.
The road leading to the site where the Russian-made drone crashed is blocked by Border Police officers, while shepherds encountered on the way to Parches village said they are supposed to graze their animals there.
"The sky was full of fire at night. You can imagine it could have fallen anywhere, but it fell downhill," said Gabriel Stan from Parches village, while repairing the sheet metal fence of his household.
Nearby, several men were trying to repair the entrance to the home of Florin Cojocaru, a former employee of the Delta Emergency Situations Inspectorate.
"I live in Somova, five kilometres away. I heard the alarm last night. It was followed by an hour of explosions like we have never had here before. At least that is how it felt to me. The F-16 aircraft could be heard very clearly as they flew over the area. No later than a week ago, another drone passed about 50 metres away. I received a RO-ALERT message. It was at Patlageanca, but it was not mentioned anywhere that it also passed over Parches," Cojocaru said.
Another man added:
"I am from Isaccea. It also passed over our area. Then it went towards Ukraine," he said.
Referring to the burnt area near the crash site, the former firefighter said there had been a vegetation fire there last week.
"It is not known how the fire started there, but firefighters came last week and put it out," Florin Cojocaru added.
According to data provided to AGERPRES by the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (ISU) Delta of Tulcea County, by the end of last month, residents of Tulcea County had received 59 warning messages in the context of the war launched by Russia in Ukraine, and for the first time since the start of the conflict, on Wednesday night ten people called the emergency number 112 to request information about the noises they heard.
"We recommend that the population read the messages received carefully, comply with and adopt protection and prevention measures, not panic, and seek information from official and verified sources. We also urge people to remain cautious and, if they notice objects falling from the airspace or anything else that may endanger their safety and integrity, or if they need help or information, to call the single emergency number 112 with confidence. RO-Alert messages are sent to inform the population first and foremost and to support citizens' safety," said the spokesman for the Delta Emergency Situations Inspectorate, Daniel Nastase.
The intensification of Russia's attacks on Ukraine is also reflected in statistics from the Ministry of National Defence (MApN).
"This year, 18 attack situations have been recorded on Ukrainian territory, carried out near the border with Romania. In 13 of these, the most recent on March 26, 2026, it was necessary to scramble aircraft from the Air Policing Service to monitor and manage the air situation," said the ministry's spokesman, Daniel Nistor.
According to the Defence Ministry representative, since the start of Russia's aggression in Ukraine in February 2022, around 80 attacks have been recorded on Ukrainian territory near the Romanian border. In 23 cases, incursions of Russian drones into national airspace were reported, the latest on March 26, 2026, and in 42 cases, fragments from such systems were identified on Romanian territory, most of them in the northern area of Tulcea County, the latest on Thursday.
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