Russia's Putin Reacts to Romania Drone Incident Claims - VIDEO
Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the drone incident in Romania, saying similar situations had previously occurred in several European countries and were initially blamed on Russia.
“We know that Ukrainian drones have flown into Finland, Poland, and several Baltic states. The initial reaction was exactly the same as it is now in Romania. ‘Oh no, the Russians are coming, it’s a Russian attack!’” Putin told journalists following his state visit to Astana, The Caspian Post reports, citing TASS.
According to the Russian leader, the UAV incident in Romania was most likely linked to a Ukrainian drone. He stated that similar cases had later been found unrelated to Russian aircraft.
“Shortly thereafter, it became clear that this had nothing to do with any Russian aircraft. These were drones of Ukrainian origin that had strayed off course due to radio electronic warfare or other reasons and had flown into that area, where they crashed,” he said.
Putin also noted that Russia is prepared to carry out an impartial investigation if Romanian authorities provide Moscow with the wreckage and relevant information connected to the drone crash.
“If they hand over [relevant data and the drone wreckage] to us, we will conduct an objective investigation. Only then will we be able to assess what has happened,” he stated.
The Russian president added that Moscow had previously shared drone fragments and related information with the United States after drones allegedly attempted to attack his residence.
“We handed over to the US administration information and fragments of drones that tried to strike a residence of the Russian Federation’s president. We simply gave it to them for analysis,” Putin said.
A Russian drone hit an apartment building in Romania, the country's defence ministry said early on Friday, causing a fire and injuring two people.
The drone crashed in the eastern city of Galati as Russia carried out attacks in Ukraine near the border, the ministry said in a statement.
The Romanian General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations said the drone's entire explosive payload detonated, causing a fire on the 10th floor of the residential building.
"This incident represents a serious and irresponsible escalation on the part of the Russian Federation," Romania's foreign ministry said, adding Bucharest had informed the Nato secretary general and "requested measures to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to Romania".
The emergency services said two people received medical treatment after suffering abrasions and around 70 people were evacuated as the fire was put out.
Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled after the drones were detected in Romanian airspace, the defence ministry said.
"One of these drones entered Romanian airspace, was tracked by radar as far as the southern part of the city of Galati, and crashed onto the roof of an apartment building, with the impact triggering a fire," it said.
