Romanian government cannot confirm their president's claims that Russian drone was downed by Ukrainian air defence

Acting Romanian Defence Minister Radu Miruță has stated he cannot confirm claims made by President Nicușor Dan that the Russian drone which hit a residential building in Galați on 29 May had been intercepted by Ukrainian air defences.

According to Romanian media outlet Digi24, when asked if he could confirm Dan's statement that the Russian drone had altered its flight path after being intercepted by Ukrainian air defence systems, Miruță replied that he had no information on the matter.

"Whether it was a deliberate manoeuvre or a connection was lost is a question we are unable to answer," Miruță said.

Miruță added that the agencies conducting forensic analysis on the drone debris may potentially be able to establish more details regarding the circumstances of the incident.

"It is likely that a ballistic examination of the components can be carried out, or perhaps the Romanian Intelligence Service or someone who dealt with this matter has such information. We saw the trajectory of this drone on our radars. We saw it approaching from the Black Sea, crossing the Danube, entering Romanian airspace and falling in Galați," he added.

Miruță is convinced that public statements about the reasons for the change in the drone's trajectory are distracting attention from the main issue. He stressed that full responsibility for the Galați incident lies with Russia.

"The Russian Federation cannot justify why a Russian drone carrying approximately 30 kilograms of TNT, an explosive substance, entered airspace where it was prohibited," the minister said.

"If voices in Russia are saying, in light of this information, that it is not theirs, I invite them to come and retrieve its serial number and locate the factory in Russia where this drone was manufactured. As long as it carries an explosive charge, those who launch a drone have a duty to take care of its trajectory," Miruță added.

On the night of 28-29 May, a Russian strike drone struck the top of a residential building in Galați and exploded, breaking through the roof and causing a fire in a corridor of an apartment on the top floor. Two residents were injured.

This is currently the most serious incident to date involving Russian strike drones entering Romanian and Moldovan airspace.

Romania's Defence Ministry reported that morning that the drone had been identified as a Russian Geran-2 type.

Prior to that, the Romanian president made a controversial statement – in an interview with the BBC, Dan stressed that Russia must change its tactics in striking Ukraine so as not to affect his country.