Why Romania does not shoot down drones over Ukraine and what Russia's deliberate strike on Galați could change
Iulian Chifu is one of Romania’s best-known and most influential experts on international security. He previously served as an advisor on national security and international affairs to President Traian Băsescu.
Even without holding an official position today, Chifu remains an influential voice in Romania’s political and security debates and has access to information that is not always public, making his assessment particularly significant. We spoke with him in Kyiv on the sidelines of the Security Architecture 2026 forum.
The Romanian expert believes that the apartment building damaged in the city of Galați was hit as the result of a deliberate Russian strike. At the same time, he firmly rejects the notion that Romania is changing its attitude towards Ukraine and argues that the controversial remarks made by Nicușor Dan in a BBC interview were taken out of context.
Chifu’s explanation of this and other issues can be found in the article "Russia is testing us": a Romanian perspective on why the drone strike was deliberate and what the consequences will be. Below are the key points.
Recent events – namely the drone strike on an apartment building in Galați that injured two people, as well as the authorities’ decision to expel the Russian consul in Constanța and declare him persona non gratae – have once again highlighted the threat Russia poses to Romania.
This has undoubtedly affected public opinion, making attitudes even more hardened. If a poll were conducted today or tomorrow, views towards Russia would likely be even more negative.
And that is a natural reaction. We were attacked.
I know for a fact that, in the case of the drone that struck Galați, we had the capability to shoot it down. However, a decision was made not to do so because intercepting it could have led to even more serious consequences.
Moreover, our NATO membership also imposes certain constraints.
Could the drone have been damaged by Ukrainian forces near Reni and then veered towards Galați? No, that is not how it works. Once a drone is hit, it goes off course and falls. Its ability to stabilise itself is limited. Even minor damage – even to just one corner of the airframe – is enough to affect its flight.
Another theory suggests that electronic warfare systems may have knocked it off course. But if that had happened, it would not have followed the trajectory that was recorded, avoiding Romanian radar coverage before ultimately striking a high-rise building. That simply does not make sense.
To me, it is obvious that this was a Russian "test" – an attempt to gauge our reaction. I say "obvious" in the sense that this conclusion follows from logical analysis. The official investigation is still ongoing.
Could Russia launch a full-scale attack against the territory of a NATO member state? I do not want to speculate about Russia’s actions or speak in terms of "what if".
What I can say is that all countries are currently considering a wide range of scenarios, including highly unlikely ones. We know that Putin is not merely in a state of war. For him, war is a way of maintaining his relevance.
In other words, the need to wage war is existential for him. Not necessarily the war against Ukraine – any war.
The numerous opinion polls regularly conducted in Romania clearly show strong public support for Ukraine and a rejection of Russia in any form.
Support for Ukraine has existed until now and will continue, because it is backed by the public, by industry and by civil society. Any political party or government would therefore find it difficult to reverse that course.
That is why I would not be overly concerned about the possibility of a major shift in Romania’s policy towards Ukraine.