The Defense Minister's first reaction to the vessel sunk by drones in the Black Sea / What he says about the possibility of military personnel intervening from the river against drones coming from Ukraine

Defense Minister Ștefan Radu Oprea stated that the investigation into the naval incident that occurred on Friday, October 23, in the Black Sea is ongoing and that the possibility of military personnel intervening from the river against drones coming from Ukraine will be analyzed together with specialists from the Ministry of National Defence.

The minister says that legislative amendments are also necessary regarding the possibility of military personnel intervening from the river against drones coming from Ukraine. Oprea emphasized in this regard that the matter will be analyzed together with specialists from the Ministry of National Defence.

“We have had ministers before who were supposed to deal with this matter. It is the second day of my term and I have already started dealing with the legislation,” the Minister of National Defence said.

President Nicușor Dan announced that a drone had struck the vessel and that it was “an event in the process of escalation that Russia is carrying out in the war in Ukraine.”

According to the Romanian Naval Authority, the Maritime Coordination Center was alerted on Friday, around 10:00 a.m., about the situation involving the Khoryv vessel. The ship was approximately 13 nautical miles from Constanța, outside Romania’s territorial waters.

There were 13 crew members on board: ten Ukrainian citizens and three Azerbaijani citizens. The preliminary toll indicates one sailor dead, three people missing, and nine rescued. A major search-and-rescue operation is continuing in the area. The incident took place amid several attacks and security incidents targeting commercial vessels in the Black Sea in recent weeks.