International reactions to the drone incident in Galati, eastern Romania
A Russian drone crashed into a block of flats in eastern Romania. The incident has caused international reactions
Newsroom, 29.05.2026, 11:37
DRONE Romania will not accept that the aggression war Russia wages on Ukraine be transferred upon its citizens, Romanian president Nicusor Dan said on Friday after a Russian drone had exploded on a block of flats in Galati, eastern Romania, wounding two people. The president summoned the country’s Supreme Defence Council and has called on the Foreign Ministry to take a series of measures concerning the country’s relations with Russia, “proportionate with this very serious situation”. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oana Toiu, has announced she has summoned the ambassador of the Russian Federation to brief him on the measures Romania is going to take at diplomatic level. “The incident represent a serious and irresponsible escalation from the Russian Federation”, the Romanian Foreign Ministry says. Bucharest has informed its allies and NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte on the drone incident and has called for measures of transferring anti-drone capabilities to Romania. The North-Atlantic Alliance has condemned Russia’s carelessness in the case of the Russian drone, which exploded in Galati and says it will continue to strengthen its defence against all threats, including those posed by drones. The incident has caused a wave of international reactions condemning Moscow. Referring to the incident in Galati, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen says that Russia’s war of aggression has crossed yet another line. The US ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker condemns the drone incident in Galati, ‘We stand with our NATO ally Romania and condemn this reckless incursion into its territory. Our thoughts are with those injured in Galați. We will defend every inch of NATO territory’. The North Atlantic Alliance has also denounced what it called Russia’s reckless behavior. The French Minister for European Affairs Benjamin Haddad says the incident in Romania proves that Russia is a threat to Europe’s security and the French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has summoned the Russian ambassador in Paris for explanations as French soldiers are stationed on the Romanian territory. According to the Defence Ministry, since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, in February 2022, 90 drone attacks have been registered in Ukraine, close to its border with Romania. 28 violations of the Romanian airspace have been registered since then and in 12 situations, drone fragments have been discovered on the Romanian territory.
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