NATO has officially accused Russia of orchestrating a drone strike that targeted an apartment building in Romania. In response to these allegations, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, issued a stern warning to European leaders, suggesting that such drone incursions will persist and continue to disrupt the peace and security of their populations.
Medvedev maintained that the origin of the drone remains unverified and dismissed the swift accusations from European officials blaming Moscow. “Let them prepare. This will keep happening,” Medvedev stated in a written comment reported by Reuters on Saturday. “There is an ongoing war, and citizens of the European Union, much like those in nations directly involved in the conflict, will not be able to sleep soundly.”
The Russian official suggested that the drone which crashed in Romania might have been manufactured for Ukraine, implying that similar incidents are likely to recur. He argued that Western involvement in the conflict justifies these events, stating, “European drones, their components, and other weaponry—not to mention intelligence support—are used in attacks against our country every single day. As a result of their actions, residential buildings are damaged, and our civilians are losing their lives.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin echoed this skepticism, asserting that it is premature to definitively attribute the drone to Moscow. Speaking at a press conference in Astana, Kazakhstan, Putin questioned the narrative, asking, “Who in Romania is claiming this is a Russian drone? No one can confirm the origin of such a device until a thorough investigation has been conducted.”
Drawing parallels to past incidents, Putin noted that Ukrainian drones have previously been identified in countries such as Finland, Poland, and throughout the Baltic states. “The initial reaction is always identical to what we are seeing now in Romania: ‘The Russians are coming,'” Putin remarked. “Yet, after some time passes, it turns out that the incident had no connection to Russian drones at all.”
Putin also directly rejected claims made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who accused Russia of border violations following the incident in Romania. Instead, the Russian leader urged Romanian authorities to share findings and provide access to the recovered drone fragments, stating that this would allow Moscow to conduct its own independent investigation into the matter.
Summary
NATO accused Russia of orchestrating a drone strike targeting an apartment building in Romania. Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, warned European leaders that drone incursions would persist, dismissing swift accusations against Moscow. He suggested the drone might have been manufactured for Ukraine and linked such events to Western military support used against Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also expressed skepticism, asserting it is premature to attribute the drone to Moscow without a thorough investigation. He noted previous incidents where Ukrainian drones were initially misidentified as Russian in other European countries. Putin urged Romania to share recovered drone fragments, allowing Russia to conduct an independent investigation and rejecting European Commission claims of border violations.