Romanian Naval Forces explosive ordnance disposal divers carried out a controlled detonation of two unmanned aerial vehicles found drifting in the country’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, near the strategic Neptun Deep offshore gas project.

Axar.az reports, citing foreign media, that the UAVs were identified as Russian-designed Gerbera-type drones that may have been carrying explosive payloads, along with a separate drone wing fragment. Ukraine confirmed that the aircraft did not belong to its forces.

According to Romania’s Ministry of National Defence (MApN), the objects were spotted at around 08:00 local time by the crew of a civilian vessel conducting operations in the area, approximately 90 nautical miles (about 167 km) east of Constanta, near the Neptun Deep perimeter. A Coast Guard vessel carrying a specialized EOD team from the Romanian Naval Forces was dispatched to the area. The two UAVs were safely neutralized through controlled detonation, while the wing fragment, which posed no pyrotechnic risk, was recovered aboard the vessel.

Acting Defence Minister Radu Miruta announced the operation later that day, including in a Facebook post featuring video footage of one of the detonations. He said the systems had been identified as Gerbera-type UAVs and that MApN had contacted its Ukrainian counterparts, who confirmed that the systems did not belong to Ukraine.

“For the safety of the shipping lane and the works being carried out around the platform, the decision was made to carry out a controlled destruction by detonation,” he said.