Russia has reacted to the decisions announced by the Romanian authorities following the crash of a Russian drone on a building in Galați. Moscow warns that it will respond to the closure of the General Consulate of the Russian Federation in Constanța and the declaration of the consul general as persona non grata.
The reaction came shortly after the CSAT meeting convened by President Nicușor Dan, at the end of which diplomatic measures against Russia were announced. Information regarding the decisions made in Bucharest was followed by statements from the Kremlin, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Moscow: "Response measures will not delay"
The harshest reaction came from the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova. "Russia's response measures to the closure of the General Consulate of the Russian Federation in Romania and the declaration of Consul General Andrei Kosilin as persona non grata will not be delayed," Zakharova stated for TASS.
The Russian official argued that the reactions triggered by the incident in Galați are being used by the West for other political purposes.
"The agitation sparked by the drone from Romania serves pro-Westerners to divert attention from the killing of children in Starobelsk by Zelensky, committed with funds and support from the EU, as well as, as is already evident, to justify the closure of the Russian General Consulate in Constanța," Zakharova stated.
Kremlin confirms Putin was informed
Asked whether Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed about the incident in Romania, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded ironically: "But what do you think? That we hid this?"
Peskov thus confirmed that the Kremlin leader is aware of the situation, but refused to make further comments.
Peskov also avoided commenting on the incident, arguing that Vladimir Putin and the Russian delegation are focused on relations with Kazakhstan and the Eurasian Economic Union agenda in Astana. "What happened there (in Romania) does not fall into any of these categories," the Kremlin spokesperson stated.
Medvedev: EU countries should "shut up"
Meanwhile, former Russian President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev also commented on the incident. "We need to figure out whose drone crashed on a house in Romania, but EU countries would be better off to 'shut up' about this issue - they are direct participants in the war with Russia," he stated.
"European unmanned aerial vehicles and other weapons, not to mention reconnaissance information, are used in attacks against Russia every day," Medvedev stated, as quoted by Mediafax.
Medvedev went further and issued a warning to citizens of countries supplying drones to Ukraine. He said that people in these countries should not "sleep peacefully" and described the current situation as "just the beginning."
Incident that triggered the diplomatic crisis
On Thursday night to Friday, a Geran-2 type drone of Russian origin crashed on a residential building in Galați. The impact was followed by an explosion and a fire in an apartment on the 10th floor of the building. Approximately 70 people were evacuated.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the entire explosive payload of the drone detonated upon impact.
After the CSAT meeting on Friday, President Nicușor Dan announced the declaration of the General Consul of the Russian Federation in Constanța as persona non grata and the closure of the General Consulate of the Russian Federation in the city.
Romania informed its allies and the NATO Secretary-General about the incident and requested the acceleration of the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to our country.