UAV event in Vrancea County, Tănăsoaia area, Romania on Sat 17th January 2026

A Russian drone was found by authorities in a household in Vrancea County, in the commune of Tănăsoaia. The aircraft fell in the yard of an abandoned house and did not cause any material damage. According to Digi24, the drone is not related to the Russian attacks on the Danube ports from Saturday night to Sunday. The fragments of the drone were picked up by a team of specialists and will be analyzed, representatives of the Ministry of National Defense reported.

UPDATE 13:50: According to the mayor of Tănăsoaia commune, the Russian drone was discovered by an old woman who takes care of the yard where the aircraft was found. Her last visit to the abandoned house reportedly took place "about a week ago." 

"This object was discovered by an old woman who takes care of that yard. She notified the competent authorities and me. I was there last night, the same today, the object was removed and now the world has entered a state of calm. It doesn't go every day, from time to time, every week or a few days. I talked to her, it's been a while since she's been there, more than a week or so," explained Mayor Melania Mocanu, live on Digi24. 

The mayor also claims that "no strange noise was heard" and points out that there is no trace of an explosion at the scene. 

UPDATE 12.40  The Ministry of National Defense has issued its first official response after the discovery of the drone in Vrancea County. The institution claims to have sent a team of specialists to the site to conduct a joint investigation. 

"On the morning of January 18, at the request of the Vrancea County Police Inspectorate, the Ministry of National Defense sent a team of specialists to conduct a joint investigation in the locality of Tănăsoaia, following the discovery of metal debris indicating a possible aerial vehicle. The discovered fragments were removed from the scene for analysis," the Ministry of National Defense said in a press release.

 INITIAL NEWS: The Army, the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Police are in the locality to collect evidence. The aircraft was discovered by locals in the yard of an uninhabited house, which is why there were no injuries.

Authorities did not identify any crater in the area of ​​the incident, and the drone was not loaded with explosives. Several fragments of the aircraft were also found at the scene. 

According to Digi24 information, it is not clear when the incident occurred, most likely the drone fell on Romanian territory in the past few days. The discovery was made on Saturday, January 17, when locals called the emergency number 112.