Two injured by the impact of a Russian drone in Romania, a member of the EU and NATO

Barcelona / MoscowRomanian authorities have no doubt that the drone that crashed early this morning against a residential building in the city of Galati, near the border with Ukraine, and lightly injured two people was Russian. Never before had an unmanned vehicle caused victims in the territory of a European Union and NATO member country. However, despite the evidence presented by the Romanian government, which has described the incident as the most serious since the start of the war, Vladimir Putin is playing dumb and questions whether his army launched the aircraft.

“We had a Russian drone, the Geran-2, departing from Russia. We know its trajectory, we know where it passed from Ukraine and we know where it entered Romania, forming part of a swarm of 43 Russian drones, of which only one reached Romanian territory”, detailed the President of Romania, Nicusor Dan, who also explained that Ukrainian air defenses had previously diverted the aircraft. The impact against the tenth floor of an apartment building triggered a fire and forced the evacuation of about seventy residents. Minutes before, upon detecting the aircraft, two F-16 fighter jets took off with permission to shoot it down, but Brigadier General Gheorghe Maxim clarified that they did not act because it would have been “too risky” to do so within a city.

NATO has condemned what it has described as Russia’s “imprudence” and has made it clear that it will continue “reinforcing” its defenses “against all threats”. Its Secretary General, Mark Rutte, added that the Alliance “is prepared to defend every inch of allied territory” and that “the implications of Russia’s illegal war” “do not stop at the Ukrainian border”. From the European Union, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, assured that, with the attack, the Kremlin “has crossed another line”. “We are in full solidarity with Romania and its people. As we continue to strengthen our security and deterrence, especially on our eastern border, we will continue to increase pressure on Russia”, she wrote. 

For its part, Volodymyr Zelensky has made himself available to Romania. “Since tonight, our army has been in contact and we have now discussed broader coordination – the Ukrainian president advanced –. We will maintain constant communication with Romania and continue to work together to protect lives from any possible Russian threat.”

During the more than four years of conflict between Moscow and Kyiv,some drones, both Russian and Ukrainian, have entered the territory of countries bordering Ukraine. To avoid future incidents like Friday's, Romania has asked its allies and NATO to “accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities” to the country. Furthermore, Dan has insisted that he will not accept the war being transferred to its citizens and has already taken measures against Russia: he has expelled the Russian consul from the Romanian city of Constanta, after declaring him persona non grata, has ordered the closure of the diplomatic mission, and has summoned the Russian ambassador in Bucharest for consultations.

Putin washes his hands of it

Putin had never admitted that the devices that ended up crashing on European soil were Russian, and this time was no exception. In a press conference from Kazakhstan, he disassociated himself from the incident and assured that he had just found out about it. He even confronted the journalist who asked him about it. "They just told me in the hallway. Who says it was a Russian drone? Many people in Europe? Ursula von der Leyen? Mrs. Von der Leyen has not been to Romania nor has she examined the drone's wreckage," he stated.

“Nobody can say where a device comes from until it is examined. We know that Ukrainian drones have flown to Finland, Poland, and other Baltic states”, continued the Russian president, who complained that Russia is systematically under suspicion. Putin believes that in those cases too, the initial reaction was to say “the Russians are coming, the Russians are shooting”, but that later it was found that Kyiv was responsible. The Kremlin leader also denied that he is preparing for a war against Europe. “This is nonsense, a dirty and blatant lie!”, he indicated. Although, shortly after, when asked about the Ukrainian devices flying over Latvia on their way to Russian ports, he replied: “All locations that pose a direct threat to Russia are legitimate targets”.

Furthermore, hours earlier, Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president, had contradicted him by taking for granted that the drone came from Russian territory. “This will continue to happen. There is a war underway! It is only the beginning!”, he wrote. The current Deputy Chairman of the Security Council concluded by saying: “Citizens of EU countries, you must be aware that your authorities have unilaterally entered into a war with Russia. Therefore, be alert and let nothing surprise you. Your peaceful sleep is over.”