Normal view

Received today — 1 May 2026 El País in English

Russian drones stoke fear in Romania’s border villages: ‘We live with war hanging over our heads’

1 May 2026 at 10:40

In the small, remote Romanian village of Vacareni, nestled on the banks of the Danube and a mere 50 meters south of the border with occupied Ukraine, the calm you see in the day is merely an illusion. Houses with roofs painted in different colors — some of them rusted metal sheets — and neatly kept vegetable gardens dotting the valley project a sense of quiet. But at night, the buzz of drones and the echo of their explosions remind the village’s 1,400 residents that they are direct witnesses to Russia’s offensive in neighboring Ukraine — an invasion they describe as a “disgrace” and one that has intensified in recent weeks.

Seguir leyendo

© Raúl Sánchez Costa

Esteri Dudu shows the vegetable garden at the back of her house and points out where Ukraine is beyond the Danube, on Saturday.
❌