A Ukrainian naval drone exploded in a Romanian port after Russian electronic warfare diverted it from its intended target, according to Ukrainian officials. The incident represents the latest in a series of cases where Russian jamming technology has pushed Ukrainian drones across NATO borders, raising concerns about unintended spillover from the war.
Romanian authorities confirmed the explosion but reported no casualties. The incident highlights growing risks posed by advanced electronic warfare systems that can redirect unmanned weapons systems across international boundaries. Ukraine has increasingly relied on naval drones to strike Russian maritime assets in the Black Sea, but Russian jamming has repeatedly sent these weapons astray into neighboring NATO territory.
The problem has become serious enough to trigger a political crisis. Latvia's government collapsed last week after a controversy stemming from its response to a similar incident in which two drones exploded at an oil storage facility. The repeated incidents have put Baltic NATO members in a difficult position, caught between supporting their Ukrainian ally and managing the risks of stray weapons landing on their soil.
Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesman acknowledged the problem. "We apologise to Estonia and all of our Baltic friends for such unintended incidents," Heorhii Tykhyi said. "We have been and remain in close cooperation between our specialised institutions to get to the heart of the matter in each case and seek ways to prevent them."
Ukrainian officials maintain they have never deliberately attempted to use Baltic or Romanian airspace for drone operations. Tykhyi blamed Moscow entirely for the incidents, saying that Kyiv targets legitimate military objectives in Russia and that Russian jamming causes the drones to veer off course. Estonia's foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna, echoed this position, saying the drones appear over Estonian territory solely because of Russian electronic warfare pushing them off course.
"These are the consequences of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine," Tsahkna told the Guardian. "This is a desperate move to divide the west and also put us on pressure that we should tell Ukrainians to stop it, because Ukraine is hitting their lifelines."
NATO officials have asked Ukraine to adjust its drone flight paths to minimize risks over alliance territory. Estonia's defense minister Hanno Pevkur stated that Ukraine needs to ensure attack trajectories stay as far from NATO territory as possible when striking Russian targets.
Russia's foreign intelligence service denied any plans by Ukraine to launch attacks from Baltic states, claiming instead that Ukrainian drones would use that airspace. Baltic leaders dismissed these allegations. Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs stated flatly: "Russia is lying about Latvia allowing any country to use Latvian airspace and territory to launch attacks against Russia or any other country."
The incidents underscore how electronic warfare is creating unintended consequences along the borders between the conflict zone and NATO territory.