Russia's war fallout: Drone and rocket fragments litter Europe
In the context of Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine, the independent Russian portal Wiorstka reported that rocket and drone fragments have been found at least 34 times in Ukraine's neighbouring countries. According to the portal's analysis, these incidents have occurred since the escalation of the conflict.
The report shows that most of the findings were recorded in Romania. The first case was registered in May 2022, when remains of a previously downed Ukrainian drone were found in the Black Sea.
The subsequent incidents occurred in January 2023. Seven such events were observed there last year and six this year. Most of the fragments came from Russian drones.
Moldova and its separatist territory, Transnistria, ranked second in the number of found debris. The first discovery of a Russian missile, downed by Ukrainian forces at the border with Ukraine, was recorded on 11 October 2022. The total number of such events reached nine.
Drone and rocket fragments from the Ukraine war found in Croatia as well
Belarus was also on the list of countries where military debris was found: once in 2022 and 2023 and twice in 2024. The Belarusian Ministry of Defence released a video in August 2024 showing fragments of a Ukrainian drone.
However, Belaruski Hajun has not confirmed this. The group monitoring military activity denied finding any debris on the specified day. This same group reported that Russia is claiming to have shot down its drones as Ukrainian over Belarus.
Other countries where debris was recorded include Bulgaria (three cases), Poland (two cases), and Croatia (one case). Additionally, on 7 September this year, a Russian drone fell for the first time on Latvian territory.
