Drones spotted in Bulgaria and Germany raise concerns of Russian escalation

The drone incidents in Europe have ignited fears that Moscow’s war on Kyiv is now entangling NATO nations.A drone has exploded in Bulgaria near the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline, the latest in a surge of unidentified unmanned aerial vehicles entering European territory as regional tensions escalate due to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said on Saturday the drone exploded near the Romanian border and the gas pipeline, which links Turkiye to Ukraine.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3At least 15 killed in Ukrainian and Russian strikes as holiday camp hitlist 2 of 3Romania summons Russian envoy as it shoots down third intruding dronelist 3 of 3NATO jets scramble as Russian missile detonates in Polandend of list“The drone exploded in the immediate vicinity of the Kardam border crossing with Romania,” he said in a video released by the government, noting that it took place about a kilometre (0.62 miles) from the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline’s compressor station.“There were no casualties,” Radev added.Separately, a spokesperson for Germany’s armed forces said on Saturday that two drones were spotted at about 10pm (20:00 GMT) on Thursday at a military base in Mechernich in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, some 35km (22 miles) from the Belgian border.The spokesperson said military personnel have since been deployed to the spot and added that German police are also investigating.German media have reported that the Bundeswehr site in Mechernich has a high-security underground storage facility for equipment and spare parts for military hardware and is a base for personnel responsible for the maintenance of US Patriot air defence systems.A drone was also discovered late on Tuesday at Leipzig/Halle Airport, a civilian freight and NATO logistics hub. It was found near several Ukrainian Antonov An-124 cargo airplanes, according to German media reports.