Bucharest: Russia bears full responsibility
During the night attacks on Ukraine (May 28–29), a drone entered Romanian airspace and struck the roof of an apartment building in Galați, a few kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Two residents — a 53-year-old woman and a 14-year-old boy — suffered minor injuries. Romania deployed two F-16 fighter jets in response. SITA ↗Romanian President Nicușor Dan convened a meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defense and shortly afterward declared: "Russia bears full responsibility for this incident." The Russian consul general in Constanța was declared persona non grata, and the consulate will be closed. Romania thus chose one of the harshest diplomatic measures since the start of the series of drone incidents on NATO territory. SITA ↗
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that Russia's war had "crossed another line," NATO condemned Moscow's "irresponsibility" and pledged to strengthen anti-drone defenses. Spanish media described the European reaction as unanimous condemnation. El Mundo ↗
Medvedev: "This is only the beginning"
Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev published a threatening statement shortly after the incident on the Max platform: according to him, EU countries are "direct participants in the war against Russia" due to their military aid to Ukraine, and Russian drones will "continue to fly" over their territory. "This is only the beginning," he wrote. Onet.pl ↗The Kremlin rejected responsibility: Putin reportedly knows about the incident, but Moscow "has no evidence that it was our drone." iDnes.cz ↗
The incident also reopened the question of how NATO should respond to such violations. Le Monde wrote that the alliance is still searching for an adequate response to this type of incident. Matúš Halás, an analyst at the Prague Institute of International Relations, reminded STVR that a similar incident had already occurred in autumn 2025 — also without a deterrent response. "The key going forward is to deter Russia. That cannot happen unless there is punishment," he said. Le Monde ↗ STVR ↗
Fico: a stray drone as an argument for dialogue
While Romania resorted to diplomatic punishment, Slovak Prime Minister Fico took a different approach to the situation. He expressed "full solidarity" — but immediately shifted the emphasis to the need for EU dialogue with Russia: "I already stated several days ago that, in the absence of dialogue between the EU and the Russian Federation, any stray drone could lead to an escalation of tension that we will not be able to manage." He called on partners to show restraint in "tough-sounding statements" and again demanded immediate dialogue between Brussels and Moscow. SITA ↗ Aktuality.sk ↗President Peter Pellegrini struck a different tone: he expressed solidarity and stressed that the incident is "a dangerous precedent that raises a real need to strengthen the security of member states on NATO's eastern flank." He also called for pressure toward peace negotiations. Aktuality.sk ↗
Parliament Speaker Richard Raši was the most emphatic among Slovak politicians: "Such attacks cannot be relativized or overlooked. The state must, in close coordination with its NATO and EU allies, increase pressure to stop the fighting and strengthen defense capabilities." TASR ↗
What hotinfo is watching
- Possible activation of NATO Article 4 — expert Halás described it as more likely than Article 5 (collective defense)
- Reassessment of the MEROPS system — the American anti-drone system in Romania, 15 km from the Ukrainian border — was operational but did not intercept the drone
- Medvedev vs. the Kremlin's official line — Moscow calls Galați an accident, while Medvedev promises continuation
- Fico's stance in the context of the June EU summit — will he push to put dialogue with Moscow on the agenda?
