"We Have Photo Evidence" – Ukraine's Foreign Minister on Shahed UAV Crash in Romania
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's Foreign Minister, has said Ukraine has photographic evidence of the crash of the Shahed UAV in Romania during the Russian attack on the night of 3-4 September at its disposal, and it is ready to present it.
As Ukrinform news agency informs, Ukraine's Foreign Minister noted that the Romanian authorities decided to take a break to thoroughly investigate the situation and draw conclusions.
"I believe that in this particular case, they (the Romanian authorities – ed.) are now studying all aspects of what happened. It's pointless to deny that something fell there. And we're confidently saying, based on evidence, that these were Shahed drones. We have photographic evidence that something fell there."
"The partners tend to try not to escalate the interpretation of certain events in order not to be involved in a direct conflict," he said.
Kuleba stresses that Ukraine is absolutely aware of what happened in Romania, even though the Romanian Defence Ministry denies everything.
"We have photographic evidence. We are ready to share it, but the final conclusions will be drawn by the Romanian authorities, who will then not only draw conclusions but also decide what they will do with them. It is easier to draw conclusions than to do something about them. That's why there is such a cautious reaction."
On the night of 3-4 September, the Russians attacked Ukraine with 32 Shahed kamikaze drones, 23 of which were destroyed, but the others hit their targets in Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.
Oleh Nikolenko, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, said that Shahed kamikaze drones launched by Russia to attack the port of Izmail in Odesa Oblast crashed and exploded in Romania.
Ukrainian border guards saw two detonations of Russian kamikaze drones in Romania and informed the neighbouring country.
The Romanian Defence Ministry "categorically denied" the Ukrainian side's information that Russian loitering munitions had crashed and exploded on Romanian territory during the night attack on 3-4 September.