Romania issues major updates after Russian drone strike injures two

Now, following a meeting of the country’s National Security Council, Romanian President Nicușor Dan announced that the Russian consulate general in the Black Sea port city of Constanța will be closed and that the Russian consul will be expelled. “Last night, a serious incident took place in which two [Romanian] citizens were injured, and Russia bears full responsibility for it. The Russian consul general in Constanța has been declared persona non grata, and the consulate in Constanța will be closed,” Mr Dan said.

“We also discussed civil defence at the Supreme Council of National Defence meeting. Last night’s response was very swift, and the interior minister informed us about the measures already taken for the entire potentially affected area, increasing the number of personnel and measures. So we are prepared in this regard.”

This comes as Romania’s foreign minister, Oana Toiu, confirmed that the drone was of Russian origin and was carrying explosives. The Ministry had already described the crash as a serious escalation by Moscow.

“We do consider it the full responsibility of the Russian Federation that our civilians were put at risk”, said Ms Toiu, told Euronews. “We do have the final confirmation from the teams on the ground that the drone is a Russian drone and it was carrying explosive.”

Speaking on the closure of the consulate, Ms Toiu added, “We consider this a clear message to Russia that it is unacceptable and that the security and safety of our citizens is our prime concern”.

Mr Dan also confirmed he discussed the Galați incident with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, describing it as “the most serious security incident to have occurred on Romanian territory since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine”. Mr Rutte expressed the Alliance’s “absolute solidarity” with Romania and confirmed that NATO is “ready to defend every inch of Allied territory”.

Meanwhile, Romania’s acting Prime Minister, Ilie Bolojan, said, in response to the drone strike, officials in Bucharest is considering sanctions against Russian diplomats. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday (May 29) that Russia had “crossed yet another line” and vowed to keep up the pressure on Moscow.

Ms Toiu stated that the crash of the Russian drone into a residential building in Galați meets the criteria that justify invoking Article 4 of NATO regarding consultations with allies.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin questioned the preliminary conclusions regarding the incident, suggesting that the aircraft may have been Ukrainian rather than Russian, according to Reuters and Kyiv Post.

“I don’t know what kind of drone exploded in Romania. Send us the remains…” Putin said, according to the Kyiv Post. Moscow has repeatedly denied responsibility for similar incidents in the airspace of NATO states.