Moldova summons Russian envoy over drone crash in Romania

The Moldovan government officially summoned Russia’s ambassador on Tuesday, hand-delivering a formal note of protest following a dramatic drone crash in neighboring Romania last week that left two civilians injured.

In a statement published on Telegram, the Moldovan Foreign Ministry forcefully condemned Moscow, asserting that the crash was the direct result of a Russian drone straying off-course during its aerial campaigns. Moldovan officials warned that such cross-border military incidents are a "direct consequence" of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and pose "serious risks for regional security and the safety of citizens." Expressing "full solidarity with Romania and with the affected persons," Chisinau utilized the diplomatic meeting to reiterate demands that Russia immediately halt its invasion and completely withdraw its forces from sovereign Ukrainian territory, News.Az reports, citing Anadolu Agency.

The diplomatic friction stems from an incident last Friday when a drone smashed into a 10-story residential apartment block in the eastern Romanian city of Galați. The kinetic strike prompted an immediate, severe response from Bucharest. The same day, Romanian authorities summoned Moscow’s ambassador to demand an explanation, while Romanian President Nicușor Dan escalated retaliatory measures by ordering the immediate closure of Russia’s Consulate General in the coastal city of Constanța and declaring the Russian consul general persona non grata.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has since pushed back against the diplomatic fallout, publicly calling on Romania to conduct a thorough, objective technical investigation into the crash site. Putin defense officials pointed to historical precedents, arguing that previous Ukrainian drones tracking into Finland, Poland, and the Baltic states had initially triggered reflexive accusations against Moscow before formal investigations ultimately proved alternative origins.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada