Russian drone hits apartments-complex in Galati, Romania and injures two people

I have convened the meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defence today at 11:00 to discuss the implications of the most serious incident that has affected national territory since the beginning of the war of aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. We will adopt proportionate measures in relation to the Russian Federation.My thoughts go first and foremost to the injured persons, to their families, and to the residents who lived through terrifying moments in their own homes. I thank them for the calm with which they responded to this situation and I assure them of the full support of the Romanian state.The unprecedented nature of the event requires a firm, coordinated and proportionate response — at national, allied and international level.I declare with all firmness that the full responsibility for this incident belongs to the Russian Federation. What happened today in Galați is the direct consequence of the war of aggression unleashed by Russia against Ukraine, of the irresponsible and indiscriminate manner in which Moscow operates these weapon systems in the immediate vicinity of NATO borders, as well as of the systematic contempt for international law. There is no ambiguity regarding the author and the cause of this aggression.The Romanian Armed Forces acted in accordance with the procedures established for such situations, having the firm order to shoot down the drone as soon as conditions would have allowed such an operation without the risk of causing casualties or damage on the ground.The decision not to engage the target was taken because the conditions that would have allowed its destruction without significantly endangering the safety of the civilian population did not exist.Romania’s response is firm and on multiple levels. I have ordered and initiated the following measures, some of which have already been implemented:

1. Informing the allies — All NATO allies and European Union partners have been informed about the incident. Communication with allied military structures is ongoing in real time.
2. Additional allied anti-drone capabilities — Romania has formally requested that allies deploy additional anti-drone capabilities on national territory to strengthen our defence and that of the Eastern Flank of the Alliance, in accordance with SACEUR’s instructions.
3. Referral to the UN Security Council — Romania will officially inform the United Nations Security Council about this brutal and repeated violation of international law by the Russian Federation.

The Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Department for Emergency Situations, and the Romanian Intelligence Service have been mobilised. Together with the local authorities in Galați, they are managing the consequences of the incident on the ground. A full investigation has been launched into the circumstances of the drone’s fall, and technical expertise has been ordered for the recovery of fragments in order to precisely identify the type of armament and the trajectory. I have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promptly present a series of measures to be taken regarding relations with the Russian Federation, proportionate to this extremely serious situation. Romania is a NATO member state and will not accept, under any circumstances, that the war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine be transferred onto its citizens. The defence of the national territory and of Romania’s citizens remains my supreme duty, as provided by the Constitution. It is a duty that we fulfil together with our allies, and today, as every day, we are stronger together. Romania’s support for Ukraine — political, humanitarian, military, and on the path to European integration — remains unwavering. The more Russia continues this war, the clearer it becomes that it must be ended through a just and lasting peace that respects the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Ukraine.