Details are still emerging, but confusion reigned after what appears to be a Russian Geran-2 drone strike on an apartment building in the Romanian city of Galati early on May 29 after being hit by Ukrainian air defences over the Danube and veering off course into Nato territory.

No one was killed, but two residents – a mother and her small child – were injured. The strike sparked a fire on the roof of the building, in what Romania immediately characterised as Russian aggression and responded to with a significant diplomatic expulsion.

However, as an investigation got underway, the Romanian government had to walk back its earlier claim that the drone was a deliberate attack on Romania by Russia and had to admit that the cause was likely a mishap.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan flew by helicopter to Galati to inspect the impact site and gave the first substantive official account of what had happened on May 30.

Dan said one of a group of Russian drones, probably struck near the Ukrainian city of Reni by Ukrainian air defence systems, had its trajectory altered by the impact and headed uncontrolled toward Galati. He stressed that final conclusions would be made only after a full technical examination of the wreckage, and announced plans to strengthen Romania's anti-drone defences with Nato allies.

Romania's Defence Ministry identified the aircraft as a Geran-2 — the Russian version of the Iranian-designed Shahed drone — with serial numbers on the recovered fragments confirming its Russian origin. In response, Dan announced the closure of the Russian consulate in Constanta and declared the Russian consul persona non grata. Romania called the incident a "serious and irresponsible escalation" and said responsibility lay entirely with the Russian Federation as the originator of the drone.

Nato's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe confirmed that the drone was Russian. A senior Nato military official told CNN that Nato had detected and tracked the aircraft as it crossed into Romanian airspace, entering just minutes before impact.

The F-16 question

The incident immediately raised an awkward question in Bucharest: why did Romania's F-16 fighters, scrambled in response to the air raid alert, not intercept the drone before it struck a civilian building?

Dan acknowledged the difficulty directly. He explained that Romania's military operates under strict legal limitations and cannot fire on drones over Romanian territory if the trajectory of the interceptor missile could cause it to cross the Danube into Ukrainian airspace — since Romania is not a party to the conflict and cannot conduct operations over Ukrainian territory. The answer did not fully satisfy critics, who questioned the value of air defences that cannot be used.

Romania's Defence Ministry confirmed separately that it had not shot down the drone, citing these constraints, despite scrambling jet fighters and tracking the drone after it entered Romanian airspace.

The incident has revived a debate about the rules of engagement for Nato members bordering active conflict zones — particularly as Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian Danube ports have made airspace incursions a recurring feature of the war's geography.

There have been a reported 28 incursions by drones and missiles into Nato airspace since the start of the conflict in Ukraine four years ago, but nearly all of them have been ascribed to mistakes or technical failures in the munitions. The most serious incident was the Russian reconnaissance drone incursion in Poland on September 10, which appeared to be a deliberate test of Nato’s air defences.

Western reaction — and Putin's response

The incident immediately blew up into a major event in western capitals as leaders jumped to the conclusion the attack was deliberate and originated in Russia.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was among the first Western leaders to react, rapidly posting on social media: "Last night a Russian drone entered Romanian airspace and hit a residential building, injuring civilians. Time and again, Russia has shown it has no regard for civilian life, international law, or sovereignty of its neighbours. We stand with Ukraine, Romania and all Nato allies." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen similarly condemned Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, asked about the incident during a state visit to Kazakhstan, lashed out and questioned the basis for these comments before any formal investigation had been concluded.

"No one can say the origin of this or that aircraft until an examination of that aircraft is conducted," he said. He referenced previous incidents in which drone fragments found in Baltic states and Finland were later determined to be Ukrainian drones that had gone off course under electronic warfare interference. "Politicians talk way too much," he said.

Previous incidents have indeed been misattributed in the immediate aftermath, although western leaders have been more cautious in the past as if they openly blame Russia for an unprovoked attack on Nato territory that would demand a response and Western powers are afraid of getting pulled into a direct conflict with RUssia and WWIII as a result.

In this specific case, however, Romanian and Nato technical analysis identified the drone as Russian before Putin spoke. The mechanism — a Russian drone redirected after being struck by Ukrainian air defences also differs fundamentally from the stray Ukrainian drones Putin cited.

Dan and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke by phone over the weekend. Zelenskiy also condemned Russia, making the maximum propaganda capital out of the incident. In the last week he has repeatedly warned that “Russia is preparing a major attack” on Kyiv after the Kremlin ordered all the foreign diplomatic missions in Kyiv to leave. This year Ukraine has mounted a sustained drone attack on key Russian oil assets and logistics hubs behind the front lines using new medium- and long-range drones. Ukraine is currently firing more drones at Russia than Russia is firing at Ukraine. The Kremlin is expected to retaliate, using its vastly more powerful missiles and has already launched several heavy barrages at Kyiv in the last few weeks.

Zelenskiy expressed support for Romania and wished a speedy recovery to the victims. The two leaders also agreed to accelerate cooperation on jointly producing UAVs that could be quickly deployed. Romania and Ukraine signed a strategic partnership declaration earlier this year that already included drone co-production as a priority.

The incident is not isolated. Russian drones have repeatedly crashed on Romanian territory during attacks on Ukrainian Danube ports, and Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its soil on numerous occasions since 2022. This strike on an occupied apartment building in Galati, however, marks a qualitative escalation — the first direct impact on a civilian structure in a Nato country resulting in injuries since Russia's full-scale invasion began.