War

Ukraine, Russian drone in Romania: 2 injured. Bucharest: via Moscow consul. Putin: ready for objective investigation

It happened in Galati, on the border: it is the first time that an attack by Moscow causes casualties on Atlantic Alliance soil. NATO: 'Defend every inch of territory'. PM Meloni: "War of aggression spares no one, European security at risk"

by Giulia Riva

29 May 2026

Agenti delle forze dell'ordine rumene al lavoro sul luogo di un'esplosione in un condominio, causata dall'impatto di un drone nei pressi del confine con l'Ucraina, a Galați, in Romania, il 29 maggio 2026. Inquam Photos/George Calin via REUTERS ATTENZIONE REDATTORI - QUESTA IMMAGINE È STATA FORNITA DA UNA TERZA PARTE. ROMANIA OUT. DIVIETO DI VENDITA COMMERCIALE O EDITORIALE IN ROMANIA via REUTERS

6' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Bucharest expels Russian consul, Kremlin: "Moscow countermeasures will not delay"
First time Russian drone causes casualties on NATO soil
Bucharest convenes Supreme Defence Council
Nato: "Moscow irresponsible, we ready to defend every inch of territory"
Von der Leyen: "Russia has crossed the line"
Crosetto: "The safety of one is the safety of all"
Meloni: 'War spares no one, European security at risk'
EU Commission: "Italia is not part of the Safe"

6' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

A drone crashed into a residential building in the NATO member country Romania. The incident caused a fire. This was reported by the Rbc-Ukraine news agency, citing Faytuks Network and the official Facebook page of the Romanian Emergency Response Service. Two people were slightly injured. It is assumed to be a Russian drone, as at that time (shortly before 3am) the Kremlin was launching a massive drone attack in the Odessa region, and Galați is located not far from that area.

Russia-Ucraina, scambio quotidiano di attacchi via drone

"According to initial reports, aRussian drone crashed into an apartment building in the city of Galați, Romania. The incident occurred shortly after the authorities issued a warning about the 'possibility of falling objects from the surrounding airspace', the Faytuks Network newspaper wrote. According to the local emergency service (Isu), the drone crashed into a residential building and - following the impact - there was an explosion that caused a fire in a flat on the tenth floor.

Bucharest dismisses Russian consul, Kremlin: 'Countermeasures will not be long in coming'

After the incident, Bucharest declared the Russian consul in Romania a 'persona non grata', resulting in the closure of the consulate in Constanta. "Moscow's countermeasures will not be long in coming", Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the Russian news agency Ria Novosti. "Westerners need the media clamour aroused by the drone in Romania to divert attention from the murder of the Starobilsk children at the hands of Zelensky, committed with EU funds and support and, as is now clear, to justify the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Constanta," the Russian diplomat continued.

According to Zakharova, EU countries' accusations of Russia carrying out drone attacks on their territories are unfounded: "All the accusations we hear, particularly those concerning drones present somewhere in the European Union, are unfounded; not a single fact, material or evidence has been presented," has the Moscow Foreign Ministry spokeswoman while President Putin himself stated that Russia is ready to conduct an objective investigation into the drone that crashed in Romania, if the remains of the aircraft are handed over to it, adding however that in the past "Ukrainian drones have entered several countries, and the first reaction has always been 'the Russians are attacking'". For the Kremlin chief, once again, it could have been a Ukrainian unmanned aircraft that was diverted from its trajectory due to electronic defences or another technical reason.

More explicit and threatening is the vice-president of the Russian Security Council, Dmitri Medvedev, who accuses the European authorities of having 'unilaterally entered into war with Russia' and addresses himself, through a post on X, directly to the citizens of the Union: 'Citizens of the EU countries, know that your authorities have unilaterally entered into war with Russia. So be vigilant and do not be surprised by anything. The peaceful sleep is over. But you know whom to ask for explanations!".

I vigili del fuoco e le forze dell'ordine sono al lavoro sul luogo di un'esplosione avvenuta in un condominio a seguito dell'impatto di un drone nei pressi del confine con l'Ucraina, a Galati, in Romania, il 29 maggio 2026. Foto di Inquam via REUTERS

First time Russian drone causes casualties on NATO soil

The Shahed drone hit the roof of a residential building near the Ukrainian border. This is 'a serious and dangerous escalation', Romanian media reported. Romania was hit during the night Russian attacks against Ukrainian ports on the Danube and in particular the town of Izmail. Following the attack, two Romanian F-16s took off. This is not the first time that drones linked to the Russian invasion of Ukraine have trespassed on EU territory - in March a drone from Moscow had hit an Estonian power station, while a drone from Kiev had crashed in Latvia - but in those cases no people were involved. This is the first time that a Russian attack has caused casualties on NATO soil.

Bucharest convenes Supreme Defence Council

Ilie Bolojan - acting prime minister of Romania - called the situation 'unacceptable', which 'represents a new violation of airspace, generated by the irresponsible and unjustified continuation of the Russian-led war in Ukraine'.

"This war continues to affect the security of Romania and the eastern flank states. I unreservedly condemn these serious actions and firmly call on Russia to put an immediate end to them," Bolojan added.

The Russian ambassador in Bucharest has been summoned, as well as the Romanian Supreme National Defence Council, "to discuss the implications of the most serious incident to hit the national territory since the start of the Russian Federation's war of aggression against Ukraine", said Romania's President Nicusor Dan. "We will take proportionate measures against the Russian Federation," he assured.

I vigili del fuoco intervengono sul luogo di un'esplosione in un condominio a seguito dell'impatto di un drone nei pressi del confine con l'Ucraina, a Galati, in Romania, il 29 maggio 2026. Foto Inquam via REUTERS

The Bucharest Foreign Minister asked NATO to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone equipment and expertise to the country. Nato responded by assuring that it would strengthen its defences against all threats, including drones.

The Supreme Allied Commander in Europe (Saceur) - US General Alexus Grynkewich - spoke on the phone with the Romanian Chief of Defence Staff, General Gheorghia Vlad. This was reported by the spokesman of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Colonel Martin L. O'Donnell. The spokesman explained that the two "discussed the incident, including the two Romanian F-16 fighter jets scrambled in response under NATO authority as part of Eastern Sentry".

Nato: 'Moscow irresponsible, we ready to defend every inch of territory'

"We condemn Russia's irresponsibility and Nato will continue to strengthen our defences against all threats, including drones," said Nato spokeswoman Allison Hart in a post on X, adding that the Alliance's secretary general, Mark Rutte, is in contact with the Romanian authorities.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte spoke with the President of Romania, Nicusor Dan. "I assured him of Nato's full solidarity and expressed closeness to the people injured in the incident. I reiterated that Nato is ready to defend every inch of allied territory," Rutte reported on X. "We will continue to strengthen our operational readiness to deter and counter any threats, including those posed by drones," he stressed, reiterating that "Russia's irresponsible behaviour represents a danger to us all."

Words of support also come from the US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker: 'We stand by our NATO ally, Romania, and condemn this reckless incursion on its territory. Our thoughts are with the wounded in Galati. We will defend every inch of Nato territory'.

Von der Leyen: 'Russia has crossed the line'

"Russia's war of aggression has crossed another line. A Russian drone raid hit a densely populated area in Romania, injuring civilians. On EU territory. 'We stand in full solidarity with Romania and its people,' she was echoed, also via social media, by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. "As we continue to strengthen our security and deterrence capacity, especially on our eastern border, we will continue to increase the pressure on Russia. We are preparing a 21st sanctions package," she said.

Crosetto: 'The safety of one is the safety of all'

Italy's Defence Minister Guido Crosetto also condemned the incident. He wrote on social media that it 'represents a dangerous and irresponsible escalation that cannot be tolerated. To the Romanian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Radu-Dinel Mirută and to all the people of Romania goes our deepest sympathy and solidarity. In the face of these threats, NATO cohesion remains unshakable: the security of a member of the Alliance and the European Union is the security of us all. United in defence of peace, stability and Euro-Atlantic territory'.

Ucraina, drone russo cade in Romania: due feriti

Meloni: 'War spares no one, European security at risk'

"Tonight a Russian drone struck a civilian building in Romania, injuring two citizens on the territory of an allied state and member of the European Union. A very serious act, which shows how this war of aggression spares no one, continuing to brutally strike innocent civilians, ignoring all limits and putting European security at risk. My deepest sympathy and solidarity goes out to the people affected, to the government and to all the Romanian people,' commented Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Foreign Minister - and Deputy Prime Minister - Antonio Tajani added: 'Once again, the Italia government urges the Russian Federation to make a serious commitment to a just and lasting peace. My solidarity with the Romanian government and Foreign Minister Oana Toiu'.

EU Commission: 'Italia is not part of the Safe'

While Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky declared that Kiev is ready to defend Romania in any way, from Brussels the European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier - during the daily press briefing - made it known that Italy is not part of Safe, the EU instrument that provides loans of up to EUR 150 billion to help EU member states rapidly and significantly increaseinvestment in the defence sector through joint procurement.

"We have a total of five states that have signed a Safe Loan Agreement: they are Poland, Lithuania, Croatia, Romania and Belgium, so Italia is not one of them," he said.

Poland, the EU executive announced today, received the first disbursement of EUR 6.6 billion. This is 15% of a total of €43.7 billion. Poland is the largest recipient of Safe funding and the first EU state to receive a payment under this instrument.