April 26, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 26.04.2026, 19:19
Talks. President Nicuşor Dan will hold talks on Monday with the leaders of pro-European parties and groups in Bucharest, namely the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union, the Democratic Union of ethnic Hungarians in Romania and the parliamentary group of national minorities, on the implementation of the major programmes for Romania, SAFE and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The president has in recent days reiterated his intention to remain a mediator after the Social Democrats withdrew their support for Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and resigned from government. Nicuşor Dan has signed their resignations and the proposals for interim ministers submitted by the Prime Minister.
Attack. European leaders, including Romanian President Nicușor Dan, condemned the incident that occurred on Saturday night in Washington, when shots were fired inside the hotel where the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was taking place. They also expressed relief that President Donald Trump and the other dinner guests were not injured. In a post on X, the Romanian president said the incident was not only an attack on Donald Trump, but also on democracy. The White House leader and First Lady Melania were urgently evacuated, and hundreds of guests, including journalists and senior officials, such as Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, took shelter under tables while Secret Service agents secured the area. The suspect, Cole Thomas Allen, opened fire at a checkpoint, wounding an agent. He was arrested and is facing multiple federal charges.
Nuclear. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of “nuclear terrorism” on Sunday, on the commemoration of 40 years since the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl. Moscow “is once again bringing the world to the brink of a man-made disaster,” he added, noting that Russian drones regularly fly over Chernobyl and that one of them hit its protective shell last year. Millions of people were exposed to radiation and vast areas of land were contaminated after the Soviet plant’s Unit 4 reactor exploded in the early hours of April 26, 1986. Thousands died later from radiation-related illnesses, but the exact toll and long-term health effects remain difficult to assess. A major international effort led to the installation in 2016 of a giant steel and concrete cover of the original sarcophagus, hastily built to contain the tonnes of radioactive waste. Kyiv says that during the current conflict, Moscow has repeatedly sent missiles and drones close to the plant to attack Ukrainian cities and allegedly damaged a protective shield in one of those attacks last year.
Condemnation. President Nicuşor Dan and Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan have firmly condemned Russia’s irresponsible behaviour, after a drone used in the attacks on Ukraine recently fell in south-eastern Romania. The fresh violation of Romanian airspace by Russia is an irresponsible act and a serious violation of international law, said the two officials, as well as the Minister of Defence, Radu Miruţă, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oana Ţoiu, who after the incident summoned the Russian ambassador to Bucharest. The Romanian president said in a statement that this is the first incident in which Romanian property was effectively damaged, a threshold that, he says, we view utmost concern. Romania is not a party to the conflict but it feels its consequences, generating challenges and vulnerabilities that must be treated most seriously, Nicuşor Dan also said. As a NATO and EU member state, Romania actively participates in efforts to strengthen common security and this incident highlights the need to speed up the army’s equipment and modernisation programmes, for which the SAFE acquisition plan is essential, the president emphasised. Following the incident, the Defence General Staff is considering reorganising its monitoring devices on the border with Ukraine.
Drones. Romanian MEP Victor Negrescu has sent an official request to the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, calling for strengthening European mechanisms for monitoring and rapid response to airspace violations. He said the Russian drone that violated Romanian airspace on Friday night and fell on Romanian territory in a populated area in the city of Galaţi (southeast), once again raises questions regarding the level of protection and the capacity to react to such threats at European level. After the drone crashed in the city, hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes for several hours, for the authorities to be able to clear the site. On Sunday, new drone fragments were also reported in the neighbouring Tulcea county. The perimeter was secured by interior ministry staff, and a joint team of specialists from the defence and the Romanian Intelligence Service was dispatched to the site to investigate the situation.
Tennis. Romania’s Sorana Cîrstea (24 WTA) on Sunday lost to world number 3 Coco Gauff in three sets, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, at the WTA 1,000 tennis tournament in Madrid. Another Romanian player, Gabriela Ruse (71 WTA) was defeated by world no. 2 Elena Rybakina, while Jaqueline Cristian, also from Romania, (33 WTA) lost on Saturday evening to world no. 1 Arina Sabalenka. (CM)
