Ceatalchioi

Ceatalchioi
Commune
Location in Tulcea County
Ceatalchioi Location in Romania
Coordinates: 45°17′N 28°47′E
Country	Romania
County	Tulcea
Subdivisions	Ceatalchioi, Pătlăgeanca, Plauru, Sălceni
Government
• Mayor (2020–2024)	Tudor Cernega[1] (PSD)
Area	108.06 km^2 (41.72 sq mi)
Elevation	2 m (7 ft)
Population  (2021-12-01)[2]	531
• Density	4.9/km^2 (13/sq mi)
Time zone	EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3)
Postal code	827040
Area code	+(40) x40
Vehicle reg.	TL
Website	www.comunaceatalchioi.ro

Ceatalchioi is a commune in Tulcea County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Ceatalchioi (Turkish: Çatalköy), Pătlăgeanca (historical name: Principesa Ileana), Plauru (historical name: Lascăr Catargiu), and Sălceni.

Location

The commune is located in the northern part of Tulcea County, 15 km (9.3 mi) north of the county seat, Tulcea. It lies in the Danube Delta, on the right bank of the Chilia branch of the Danube, which marks the Romania–Ukraine border. Across from the village of Plauru is the city of Izmail, on the Ukrainian side of the border.

September 2023 explosions

Further information: Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure (2022–present) § September 2023

During the evening of September 3, 2023, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, multiple Russian drones of Iranian production Shahed-136, that were supposed to hit a target in Izmail, crashed and detonated on the Romanian side, close to the village of Plauru (45°19′43.9″N 28°48′13″E). As the area the detonations took place is uninhabited, the incident went unnoticed, and it was the Ukrainian government who announced the explosion of Russian drones in Romania.^[3]

Initially, the Romanian government denied the event taking place, but on September 4, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine published a video showing the explosions taking place on the Romanian side. The Ukrainian government informed the Romanian government and a search party was commenced. As Romania is a NATO member state, it was believed that the government is denying the incidents to avoid an escalation of the events. However, fragments of a first drone were found in the area close to the Danube shore days later, confirming that a Russian drone detonated in Romania. The Romanian president Klaus Iohannis had a phone conversation with Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of NATO, after the incident, which publicly stated that "Romania has full NATO support.".

Parts of a second drone were found on September 9 in the immediate vicinity of the village of Plauru and the third on September 13 in the area of the village of Victoria in the commune of Nufăru, 15 km from the Romanian-Ukrainian border, which spread over several tens of meters, confirming that multiple drones were detonated on Romanian soil.^[4] The Ukrainian Air Force recorded that the Russia launched several groups of attack UAVs from the area of the Chauda training ground (occupied Crimea) and Primorsko-Akhtarsk (Russian Federation).^[5] Journalists on the site began questioning locals, who stated that they often saw Russian drones flying over their houses, giving clues that it may not have been the first time Russia violates Romanian airspace.

Similar incidents already took place in Moldova, Poland, and Belarus, countries not involved directly in the conflict. Romania became the second NATO country to be affected, after Poland. Coincidentally, Poland and Romania were the countries to be the most threatened by Russian politicians, because of their proximity and NATO membership.^{[6][7][8][9][10]}

On July 25, 2024, three Shahed drones launched by Russia strayed into Romania's airspace;^[11] debris from one of the Geran-2 drones were subsequently found in Plauru by the Romanian authorities.^[11][12]

See also

• Violations of non-combatant airspaces during the Russian invasion of Ukraine – Airspace violations during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
• 2022 Zagreb Tu-141 crash – Military drone crash in Zagreb, Croatia
• 2022 missile explosion in Poland – 2022 explosions in Poland
• 2023 Black Sea drone incident – Russian-U.S. military interaction
• Action of 26 June 1941

References

1. "Results of the 2020 local elections". Central Electoral Bureau. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
2. "Populaţia rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (XLS). National Institute of Statistics.
3. "OSINT analysts geolocate detonation site of Russian drone in Romania". Military. 2023-09-06. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
4. "Elements of a possible drone were identified in zona Nufărul and Victoria areas". Ministry of National Defence. 2023-09-13. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
5. "Russians launch drones in southern regions and intensify tactical aircraft operations" (in Ukrainian). Ukrainska Pravda. 2023-09-04. Retrieved 2023-09-04.
6. "Російські "Шахеди" влучили по території Румунії, каже Україна. Бухарест заперечує" (in Ukrainian). BBC. 2023-09-04. Retrieved 2023-09-04.
7. Higgins, Andrew (2023-08-11). "Tras un ataque ruso en Ucrania, cristales rotos y nervios a flor de piel en Rumania". The New York Times (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-04.
8. "У МЗС заявили, що російські дрони Shahed-136 вночі вибухнули в Румунії – країні НАТО: карта" (in Ukrainian). LIGA.net. 2023-09-04. Retrieved 2023-09-04.
9. "Вибух "шахедів" у Румунії. Міноборони країни видало суперечливі пресрелізи щодо ситуації" (in Ukrainian). LIGA.net. 2023-09-04. Retrieved 2023-09-04.
10. "Міноборони Румунії зробило заяву щодо падіння російського БПЛА на їхню територію" (in Ukrainian). НСТУ. 2023-09-04. Retrieved 2023-09-04.
11. Melkozerova, Veronika (July 25, 2024). "Ukraine's air force said three Russian Shahed kamikaze drones crossed the border". Politico. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
12. Cornea, Ovidiu (July 25, 2024). "NATO, după ce resturile unei drone rusești au căzut în România: acțiuni iresponsabile și potențial periculoase ale Rusie" (in Romanian). Radio Free Europe. Retrieved July 25, 2024.