Several explosions rocked Ukrainian regions very close to the border with Romania on Tuesday night. Video footage posted on social media by residents from Tulcea shows the drone rain and the huge fires that most likely broke out in the city of Izmail, in the Odesa region.
Not only were the local residents scared, but also the pets.
"Oh my God, what a blast! It sounds like it's next to me. And all the dogs are howling," someone commented on Facebook. "Let's hope that people are safe and haven't been harmed!" someone else replied.
MoD confirms the attack near Romania's border
The Ministry of Defense announced that, on the night of July 15 to 16, Russian forces launched new drone attacks on civilian and port infrastructure in Ukraine, in the Izmail and Chilia areas, near the river border with Romania.
Romanian radar systems monitored the drones' trajectory between 00:00 and 02:00, and the F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force, on combat duty, were put on preventive alert. However, they did not take off, as there was no threat of entering the national airspace.
The National Military Command Center did not notify the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, and the population in the northern part of Tulcea County was not alerted via RO-Alert messages.
The MoD specifies that it constantly monitors the situation at the border with Ukraine and that NATO structures are being informed in real-time.
Calls to 112
Scared by the noise, residents of Tulcea called 112. The service recorded 12 calls.
The Delta Emergency Situations Inspectorate (ISU) explained the population's reaction due to the absence of an RO-ALERT message, which would normally be transmitted by the Ministry of National Defense.
"Usually, when people receive an RO-ALERT message, we rarely register any calls or receive a maximum of two phone calls. Now, probably due to the absence of such a message, they got scared, and we received 12 calls," said Cristina Profir, the ISU Delta spokesperson, to Agerpres.
Attacks in multiple areas of Ukraine
The attack comes two days after US President Donald Trump warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin has 50 days to reach a peace agreement, otherwise facing tough trade tariffs from Washington.
Journalists from Kiev Independent on the ground reported hearing explosions and the sound of anti-aircraft defense systems in action shortly before 1:00. The Ukrainian Air Forces issued multiple alerts regarding successive waves of Russian drones targeting the capital, as well as other regions, including areas in the western part of the country, far from the front line.
Additionally, the Air Forces warned of the threat of ballistic missiles.