President Vladimir Putin has accused Romania of jumping to conclusions after it said a Russian drone crashed into an apartment building near its eastern border with Ukraine early Friday.
“No one can determine the origin of any aircraft until a proper forensic examination of that aircraft has been conducted,” Putin said at a press conference in Kazakhstan. “If they provide us with any objective data... in that case, we will give our assessment of what happened.”
Romanian authorities said that two people were injured after a drone crashed into an apartment in the city of Galati, located right across the border from southern Ukraine and Moldova. The downing comes amid a broader uptick of both Russian and Ukrainian drones straying into the airspace of NATO members as the two countries continue attacks on each other.
Romania’s military identified the downed aircraft as a Geran-2, the Russian version of the Iranian-designed Shahed drone. It said a fire broke out on the roof of the apartment building and the two people were hospitalized for their injuries.
In response, Romanian President Nicușor Dan announced the closure of the Russian consulate in Constanta and declared the Russian consul in the Black Sea port city persona non grata. Romania’s foreign ministry also summoned the Russian ambassador in Bucharest over the incident.
