Add the Gazzetta del Sud as a source
During the night, a drone hit the roof of a residential condominium in Galati, a Romanian city overlooking the Danube and located about twenty kilometers from the border with Ukraine. The impact occurred while a massive Russian attack was underway on Ukrainian territory. Two people were slightly injured.
According to the Romanian Ministry of Defense, the unmanned aircraft remained in national airspace for about four minutes, an interval deemed too short to allow it to be shot down without risk. The episode provoked a harsh reaction from Bucharest, which accused Moscow of a “serious and dangerous escalation”.
The support of NATO and the European Union
Romania immediately received support from NATO and the European Union. The secretary general of the Atlantic Alliance Mark Rutte, in a conversation with the Romanian president Nicusor Dan, reiterated that Russia represents “a danger for everyone” and assured its willingness to defend “every centimeter of allied territory”.
The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the main European chancelleries, including Italy, also attributed the responsibility for the incident to Moscow. Von der Leyen stated that the Russian war of aggression “has crossed another limit” and confirmed the European Union’s intention to strengthen security and deterrence, especially along the eastern border, recalling the imminent launch of the twenty-first package of sanctions against Russia.
The United States condemned the incursion through a message published on X by NATO ambassador Matthew Whitaker, who defined the episode as “reckless”, without however explicitly indicating Russian responsibility.
Moscow rejects the accusations
The Kremlin has denied any involvement, claiming that there is no evidence of the Russian origin of the drone, identified by the Romanian authorities as a Geran-2, the Russian version of the Iranian-produced Shahed 136. According to Vladimir Putin, the aircraft may have been a Ukrainian drone deviated from its route due to electronic countermeasures or errors in navigation data.
The Russian president said he was in favor of an “objective investigation” if the wreckage was made available to investigators. The vice president of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev was harsher, accusing the European Union of having entered “unilaterally at war with Russia”, inviting European citizens to hold their governments to account.
Diplomatic crisis and new defense measures
Diplomatic tension escalated further in the following hours. Bucharest summoned the Russian ambassador, declared the Moscow consul general in Constanta persona non grata and ordered the closure of the consulate. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova promised countermeasures, while accusing the West of using the episode to divert attention from a Ukrainian attack in the Lugansk region.
The Romanian interim Foreign Minister Oana Ţoiu also raised the possibility of resorting to Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, which provides for consultations between allies when a member state believes its security is threatened.
Meanwhile, the Atlantic Alliance has announced the temporary transfer of further air defense systems to Romania, pending the completion of the national modernization program also supported by European funds from the Safe programme.
Ukraine also expressed full support for Bucharest. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kiev is ready to defend Romania “in any way necessary” and agreed with President Dan to accelerate cooperation in the co-production of fast-deployable drones.