Romania summoned Russia’s ambassador after its intelligence service said a network coordinated from Russia was involved in a Sept. 14 fire at an industrial site in Brașov.
The Romanian Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Dan Neculăescu summoned Ambassador Vladimir Lipaev on Tuesday to deliver a protest. The ministry said investigators had gathered evidence of Russian responsibility and characterized the blaze as part of a broader campaign against European states.
The fire occurred at the Carfil industrial platform in Brașov, near CARFIL SA, a subsidiary of CN ROMARM. The Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) said its findings tied the incident to a network coordinated from Russia.
SRI said instructions to the network included targets such as arms production facilities and other military or industrial sites across the region. The agency said several people involved came from former Soviet states and lived in European Union countries.
The Foreign Ministry also condemned attacks by Russian forces on commercial vessels in the Black Sea, saying they had caused casualties and put safe navigation at risk. The episode comes amid Romania’s earlier call to expand Black Sea security capabilities, after its top defense council cited vessel attacks and risks to energy facilities in the country’s exclusive economic zone. The council also called for faster improvements to sea monitoring and responses to mines and drones.
In a Telegram statement, the Russian Embassy said Lipaev rejected Romania’s accusation and denied Russian involvement in sabotage in Romania or other countries. It blamed Ukraine and countries supplying it with weapons for threats to navigation in the Black Sea.
The embassy also asserted that Ukrainian forces had targeted more than 250 commercial vessels serving Russian economic entities since the start of the year, killing 28 sailors. It said none of the vessels carried military cargo.
SRI said judicial proceedings were underway in Romania and with authorities in several other European countries.
