Romania summons Russian ambassador over Carfil plant sabotage

Romania's foreign ministry summoned Russia's ambassador to Bucharest on Tuesday to explain an act of sabotage that Romanian authorities say was coordinated by Russia, foreign minister Dan Neculescu said on X.

The ministry lodged a firm protest over the sabotage at the Carfil industrial platform in Brașov, which caused a fire on 14 September, saying Russian responsibility was shown by evidence gathered during an investigation by Romanian intelligence, according to Ukrainska Pravda and Romanian outlet G4Media.

Romania's foreign ministry called the incident a clear example of hybrid warfare and said it was part of a wider and increasingly complex pattern of actions carried out or backed by Russia against several European states. It also condemned what it called systematic Russian attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea that have caused casualties, saying these violate international law and threaten freedom of navigation.

President Nicușor Dan said he "strongly condemned any involvement by the Russian Federation in acts of sabotage on Romanian territory," calling such actions unacceptable and a serious breach of the country's sovereignty and security, Știripesurse reported. Carfil is a subsidiary of Romania's state-owned arms manufacturer Romarm, the outlet said. Dan added that no foreign entity had the right to act this way on Romanian territory or that of other European states, and said investigations had shown how hostile entities used social media to lure people into illegal activity.

Dan said Russia had in recent weeks escalated its actions against civilian shipping in the Black Sea, describing the sabotage and the maritime attacks as part of a premeditated, coordinated campaign to sow divisions in European societies and discourage states from strengthening their own defence and collective security. He said Romania would act firmly to identify those involved and protect its citizens and critical infrastructure.

Dan said Russia had for years used a range of tools to try to weaken European democracies, including attempts to influence elections, disinformation campaigns, information warfare, cyberattacks and acts of sabotage, which he described as part of the same hybrid war. He said the intensification of these actions required greater vigilance and a constant reassessment of the risks.