A drone exploded near a gas pipeline in Bulgaria after flying over Romania

<span><span><span><span><span><span>On Saturday, August 8, at around 5 a.m., a drone of unknown origin entered Bulgarian airspace and exploded near an international gas pipeline shortly after crossing the border from Romania. There were no casualties or damage to buildings.</span></span></span></span></span></span>

<span><span><span><span><span><span>This was reported by the Associated Press.</span></span></span></span></span></span>

<span><span><span><span><span><span>Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev stated that the explosion occurred approximately 200 meters from a Romanian compressor station and about 1 kilometer from a Bulgarian compressor station on the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline. It was not detected or identified during its flight through either Romanian or Bulgarian airspace.</span></span></span></span></span></span>

<span><span><span><span><span><span>Radev noted that the area where the incident occurred is currently cordoned off. The situation is being monitored. In addition, Bulgaria is redeploying border police capabilities for detecting and countering drones from the border with Turkey to the border with Romania.</span></span></span></span></span></span>

<span><span><span><span><span><span>Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov stated that the incident will be raised at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council early next week. He also speculated that the drone was likely carrying a significant amount of explosives, given the force of the explosion and the large plume of black smoke.</span></span></span></span></span></span>

<span><span><span><span><span><span>It is currently unknown whether the drone is linked to Russia or Ukraine. </span></span></span></span></span></span>

Earlier, on the morning of August 2, an air raid alert was issued in the Romanian county of Tulcea, which borders the Odesa region, after an aerial target was detected near the Ukrainian border. The Romanian Ministry of Defense emphasized that the object was moving near the state border but did not enter the country’s airspace.

Юлія Калабайда