Romania explains strike by Russian drone as result of Ukrainian air defense activity
Photo: Nicușor Dan (Getty Images)
Romanian President Nicușor Dan visited people who were injured after a Russian drone struck a residential building in the city of Galați. During the visit, he provided new details about the incident, according to Stirile ProTV.
According to Romania’s President, the drone that fell in Galați was part of a group of 43 Russian drones. They were launched from the east and crossed Ukrainian airspace, moving roughly 20–30 kilometers north of the Danube River.
"When the drones were flying over Ukrainian territory, some of them were shot down. However, one drone, which was most likely hit over the Ukrainian city of Reni, changed its trajectory and headed toward the Romanian city of Galați," Nicușor Dan said.
When asked whether the drone changed course accidentally or due to deliberate action, he explained that it had been kinetically hit, which caused it to deviate from its route and subsequently crash.
Countering drones
Regarding Romania’s requests to NATO for anti-drone capabilities, Nicușor Dan said this is a "complex technical issue."
"Depending on the equipment, if you are asking to shoot down a drone from an aircraft, you must be sure that the trajectory of the missile used to intercept it does not reach residential buildings and does not cause significant damage, and also that it does not fire from Romanian territory into Ukraine — so there are many conditions,” he noted.
Presidential advisor Dmytro Lytvyn told journalists that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had already spoken with his Romanian counterpart, and no additional comments are needed.
"I just spoke with the President of Romania. A Russian drone hit a residential building in Romania, and people were injured. We agreed with Nicușor that Ukraine will support Romania in this situation," Zelenskyy said.
He added that teams from both countries are working to strengthen air defense.
"By supporting each other now, we are strengthening our common positions," he noted.
Russian drone strike on Romania
On the night of May 29, during another attack by the aggressor state on Ukraine, one enemy drone entered Romanian territory and struck the roof of a multi-storey building in Galați.
As a result of the strike, a fire broke out in an apartment on the 10th floor. Two people were injured and received medical assistance on site.
Romania’s Ministry of National Defense stated that the building was hit by a Russian Geran-2 drone.
According to Romanian military officials, the drone could not be intercepted due to the extremely short response time. Brigadier General Gheorghe Maxim said only four minutes passed between detection and impact.
