Village in EU country evacuated as tanker ignited after Russian strike in Ukraine

An EU village near Ukraine's border was evacuated on Monday (Image: X/ Turkey's General Directorate of Maritime Affairs)

A Romanian border village was evacuated after a ship carrying gas caught fire near a Ukrainian port just 1,600 feet away following a Russian drone strike. Between 100 and 150 people have been evacuated from the Plauru village, which lies just across the Danube River from the port city of Izmail, which was hit by a Russian drone attack during the night of November 16-17.

This evacuation order came after a Turkish-flagged tanker was hit by the drone strike. The LNG tanker ORINDA was carrying thousands of metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) when it was struck during evacuation operations, triggering a fire.

An unidentified missile or rocket smashed into the ship while 16 crew members were evacuating. No injuries were reported, according to the Turkish Government. The 24-hour Romanian TV news channel Digi24 reported that Romania's emergency services announced a high risk of an explosion within a three-mile radius around Plauru, and the area should be evacuated immediately.

The Ukrainian city of Izmail was attacked in a Russian strike overnight (Image: Getty)

"An LNG tanker near Izmail caught fire as a result of the drone attack carried out on Ukrainian territory last night," the announcement stated.

Tudor Cernega, the mayor of the Ceatalchioi commune, which includes Plauru, stated that authorities are now inspecting the village "house by house" and evacuating animals, according to The Kyiv Independent, just after 2.30pm on Monday. The mayor said the situation was "very serious," noting that the ship "could explode at any moment."

"Russia's brutal escalation of terror threatens not only Ukraine but also our neighbours," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated. "This underscores the urgency of collective pressure on Moscow to end the war."

The mayor of Cataloi, a settlement west of Plauru, added that 15 people, along with their pets, were also being evacuated. Some were sent to the city of Tulcea, while others are temporarily staying in the village council building.

Romania shares a 381-mile border with Ukraine (Image: Getty)

Following the outbreak of fire on board the ORINDA tanker, Ukrainian firefighters rushed to the scene, while Turkish authorities also monitored the situation. This is not the first time a Turkish-flagged vessel has been attacked in the Black Sea since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. In 2024, Russia was suspected of conducting a missile strike on a Turkish-operated cargo ship carrying Ukrainian grain to Egypt.

Romania - a member of both NATO and the EU - shares a 381-mile border with Ukraine and has often reported Russian drones intruding in its airspace or crashing on its territory - including near Plauru - during strikes on Ukraine. Air-raid warnings are often issued in this region during Russian strikes on southern Odesa, and on several occasions, Romania has been forced to scramble its own aircraft in response.

Most recently, the Romanian Defence Ministry reported that a drone likely fell on Romanian territory during Russia's overnight attack on port infrastructure in Ukraine's Odesa Oblast on November 11. Two months earlier, a Russian drone also entered Romania's airspace during another strike on Ukraine, infiltrating about six miles and remaining for around 50 minutes before returning towards Ukraine.