Romania will not accept Russia’s war to be transferred to Romanians, president says
Romania will not accept that the war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine be transferred to its citizens, President Nicusor Dan said.
He added that he asked the foreign ministry to present without delay a series of measures regarding the country’s relationship with Russia, “proportionate to this very serious situation”.
Romania summons Russian ambassador
Romania summoned Russia’s ambassador, Foreign Minister Oana-Silvia Toiu said, after a drone injured two people in a southeastern city during an overnight Russian attack on neighbouring Ukraine.
“We have confirmation from the Ministry of National Defence that the drone that crashed on a residential building in Galati is of Russian origin”, said Toiu on X.
France FM slams ‘irresponsible act’ after Russia drone hits Romania
Poland’s foreign minister says Russia “dangerous” after drone incident in Romania
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told Reuters on Friday that Russia remained a threat regardless of the circumstances surrounding a reported drone incident in Romania, and expressed solidarity with Bucharest.
“Regardless of whether it was on purpose or the result of ineptitude, Russia is still dangerous and we must defend ourselves against it,” Sikorski said.
French FM summons Russian ambassador over drone incident in Romania
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Friday that he had summoned Russia’s ambassador after a Russian drone hit an apartment building in Romania and injured civilians during an overnight attack in neighbouring Ukraine.
US anti-drone system ‘operational’ but too risky to use in city, Romania says
The US anti-drone system Merops is operational in Romania, but would have been too risky to use in a city, Romanian Brigadier General Gheorghe Maxim said on Friday after a drone hit the roof of a block of flats and caused an explosion.
Moldova president says ‘Russia is a danger to all’ after ‘grave’ Romania drone strike
The president of Moldova, sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania, condemned a “grave” Russian drone strike that wounded two people in Romania.
“I strongly condemn Russian drones striking Romanians in their homes,” Maia Sandu said on X. “This is grave. The Republic of Moldova stands in full solidarity with Romania and wishes a swift recovery to those injured in Galati. Russia is a danger to all and must be stopped.”
Russian drones attacked three foreign-flagged vessels, Ukraine’s deputy PM says
Russian drones attacked three foreign-flagged merchant vessels late on Thursday and overnight on Friday as they were moving along Ukraine’s export maritime corridor in the Black Sea, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said.
The strikes caused fires to break out on board the vessels, which were extinguished by the crews, Kuleba said on Telegram.
Romania general says drone was in Romania for 4 minutes
‘Russia’s war of aggression has crossed yet another line’, von der Leyen says
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Russia had “crossed yet another
line” after one of its drones hit a densely populated area in Romania and injured civilians during an overnight attack in neighbouring Ukraine.
“We stand in full solidarity with Romania and its people,” von der Leyen said in a post on X. “As we continue strengthening our security and deterrence, especially on our eastern border, we will keep increasing the pressure on Russia.”
Russian drone strike damaged Turkish ship sailing from Odesa, Ukraine navy says
Ukraine’s navy said that a Russian drone strike sparked a fire on a cargo ship bound for Turkey that had departed the Ukrainian port of Odesa.
“The Russian Federation carried out a targeted attack on a Turkish vessel,” the Ukrainian navy posted on Telegram saying a fire had broken out and two crew members wounded on the Vanuatu-flagged cargo vessel, which had Turkish owners.
Fuel storage facilities on fire in Russia’s Yaroslavl region after drone attack, governor says
Fuel storage facilities caught fire following a Ukraine drone attack in Russia’s Yaroslavl region, northeast of Moscow, Governor Mikhail Yevrayev said on Telegram, adding that work to extinguish the fire were ongoing.
Overall, Russia downed 208 drones overnight, Interfax said, citing the defense ministry. Of those, over 80 were shot down in Russia’s southern Rostov region, local authorities said.
Drone incident reflects Russian threat to European security, French minister says
French Minister for European Affairs Benjamin Haddad said on Friday that an incident involving a Russian drone in Romania showed that Russia was a threat to European security.
“Russia has not only attacked Ukraine, but also threatened the European security architecture. A Russian drone crashed in Romania again last night, posing a threat through its interference,” Haddad told French radio RMC.
“I would also like to point out that we have French troops stationed in Romania as part of NATO’s reassurance operations, specifically to demonstrate our support for the sovereignty of our partners in Europe,” he added.
NATO will strengthen defences against threats, including drones
NATO said it would strengthen its defences against all threats, including drones, after a drone crashed onto the roof of a 10-storey block of flats in the southeastern Romanian city of Galati during a Russian overnight attack on neighbouring Ukraine.
“We condemn Russia’s recklessness, and NATO will continue to strengthen our defences against all threats, including drones,” a NATO spokesperson said in a post on social media platform X.
Romania condemns ‘grave and irresponsible escalation from Russia’
The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday that an incident involving a Russian drone that struck an apartment building in a Romanian city is a “grave and irresponsible escalation from Russia”.
“Romania has informed allies and NATO’s secretary general about the circumstances and requested measures to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to Romania,” the ministry said.
Russian drone launched against Ukraine crashes in Romania, injuring two
A Russian drone that was part of an overnight attack on Ukraine crashed into an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people, Romanian authorities said Friday.
Welcome to the France 24 liveblog covering the Ukraine war. Catch up on yesterday’s latest happenings here.
