After a Russian Drone Crashed on Its Territory... Romania Expels the Russian Consul

SadaNews - Romania announced on Friday the expulsion of the Russian Consul General in the Black Sea city of Constanta and the closure of the Russian consulate there, following the incursion of a Russian drone into its airspace and its crash over a residential building in the city of Galati near the border with Ukraine, an incident that resulted in minor injuries to two people and sparked widespread Western reactions.

Romanian President Nicolae Ciucă stated that Russia "bears full responsibility for this incident," announcing the designation of the Russian consul general in Constanta as "unwelcome" and the closure of the Russian consulate in the city.

This came just hours after Bucharest condemned what it described as "a serious and irresponsible escalation" by Moscow, and summoned the Russian ambassador in light of the incident.

For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Moscow is preparing to respond to Romania's expulsion of its consul general following the drone crash in the Romanian city of Galati; said the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, "Measures in response to the declaration of the Russian consul general as an unwelcome person and the closure of the consulate general in Romania will not be delayed," describing the Western reaction to the drone crash as "noise."

The Romanian Ministry of Defense stated that Russia resumed its drone attacks on civilian targets and infrastructure in Ukraine near the river border with Romania during the night from Thursday to Friday, indicating that one of the drones entered Romanian airspace and was tracked by radar systems up to the southern part of the city of Galati before crashing on the roof of a residential building, causing a fire.

The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the incident, describing it as a "serious and irresponsible escalation," confirming that it has informed its allies and the Secretary-General of NATO of the incident and requested measures to expedite the transfer of drone defense capabilities to Romania.

Later, Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Lungescu announced the summoning of the Russian ambassador, describing the incident as "extremely serious."

She stated via the "X" platform that the Romanian authorities will formally inform the Russian ambassador "of the implications of this irresponsible act on the diplomatic relations between the two countries," in addition to the anticipated steps at the European level regarding sanctions packages.

The Romanian president also called for a meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defense to discuss the implications of the incident.

NATO expressed its solidarity with Romania and condemned what it termed "Russian recklessness." NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stated that he is in contact with the Romanian authorities, affirming "absolute solidarity" with Bucharest.

Rutte added that "Russia's reckless behavior poses a threat to all of us."

Reports quoted a source close to NATO that Romania has the option to request the activation of Article 4 of the NATO founding treaty or not to activate it.

Article 4 stipulates consultations among member states when any party believes that its territorial integrity, political independence, or security is threatened, and it has been activated several times before, including at Poland's request in the fall of 2025 after Russian drones intruded into its airspace.

In Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen regarded "the Russian aggression has crossed a new line."

The U.S. ambassador to NATO, Cathy Whittaker, condemned what she described as "reckless incursion," while Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that the explosion of the Russian drone within a Romanian residential area proves once again that "Russian aggression poses a real threat to the Black Sea region and to all of Europe."

Likewise, Moldovan President Maia Sandu condemned "the targeting of Russian drones at Romanians in their homes," considering that "Russia poses a threat to everyone and must be stopped."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian denounced what he termed "an irresponsible act," while German Foreign Minister Johan Wadeful reiterated that Russia "continues to threaten collective security," emphasizing his country’s solidarity with Romania and its commitment to continue strengthening defense for Ukraine and Europe within NATO.

This incident marks the first time since the beginning of the Russian war on Ukraine in February 2022 that a Russian drone has hit a residential building on Romanian territory, despite several previous reports of similar incursions over the past years.

The Romanian Ministry of Defense clarified that two "F-16" fighters took off from the Fetești airbase in eastern Romania as soon as the drones were detected near Romanian airspace, and they were tasked with monitoring the targets throughout the alert period.

According to the Romanian Emergency Service, the entire payload of the drone exploded upon colliding with the building, while the two individuals inside the affected apartment received treatment on the spot after sustaining minor injuries and managed to leave the building before the explosion.

However, a Romanian defense official stated that the forces did not have enough time to shoot down the drone, adding that "there was no realistic opportunity to handle it safely."

In a related context, the Ukrainian Navy announced that a Russian drone attacked a Turkish cargo ship leaving one of the ports in the Odesa region of southern Ukraine, injuring two crew members before they were evacuated by Ukrainian Navy boats and transported to a medical center.

The Ukrainian authorities also announced the launch of an air alert during the night from Thursday to Friday in anticipation of new Russian strikes, while at least two people were injured in the city of Zaporizhzhia due to a fire that broke out as a result of a Russian attack, according to local authorities.

This comes days after a large-scale Russian attack described as one of the most intense since the beginning of the war, in which Moscow used nearly 600 drones, 35 ballistic missiles, and 50 cruise missiles against Ukrainian targets.

In contrast, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported the interception of 208 Ukrainian drones during the night from Thursday to Friday, while the governor of the Yaroslavl region stated that several drones hit an industrial fuel depot and caused a fire without any injuries reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had called on the United States, after the latest Russian attack, to provide his country with more Patriot missile systems, considering them as the only means capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.

Moscow has been hinting at an escalation of its military operations against Ukraine in response to a Ukrainian strike that it claimed resulted in the deaths of 21 people in a school within the Ukrainian territories under its control.

NATO member countries located on the borders of Ukraine or Russia, including Romania, Poland, and the Baltic states, are experiencing repeated incursions of drones and aircraft from both sides since the conflict erupted.