Romanian Defense Ministry Reveals Type Of Russian Drone That Hit Apartment Building
- 29.05.2026, 12:38
It also became known why it wasn't shot down.
Romania's Ministry of National Defense has determined that a Russian Geran-2 drone hit a high-rise apartment building in Galati.
This is reported by Digi24.
It is noted that teams of specialists from the Defense Ministry, the Interior Ministry and the Romanian Intelligence Service are continuing their investigation in the area of a residential building in Galati, which was hit by a drone on the morning of May 29.
"According to preliminary data, the entire cargo of the Russian-made Geran-2 drone exploded during the collision," the Defense Ministry said.
The Russian-made Geran drones were developed on the basis of Iran's Shahed drone model, which Russia has been actively using against Ukraine since the beginning of the war.
The ministry also said that two people injured in the explosion were taken to the Galati District Emergency Clinical Hospital.
"The Ministry of National Defense strongly condemns the irresponsible actions of the Russian Federation and stresses that they pose a new threat to regional security and stability in the Black Sea region. Such incidents demonstrate Russia's disrespect for the norms of international law and jeopardize not only the security of Romanian citizens, but also the collective security of NATO," the ministry said.
The military claims it did not have enough time to intercept the Russian drone.
According to Brigadier General Gheorghe Maxim, only four minutes elapsed from the moment the target was detected to its downing.
"The first limitation we have is a legal one: we cannot fire in a way that affects the airspace of a neighboring country. In addition, it takes a certain amount of time to engage an aerial target, which includes detection, identification and engagement. The 4 minutes we had was an extremely short time," he explained.
He also drew attention to the fact that a significant part of the Romanian air defense systems was created before the large-scale use of attack drones in modern wars.
Maxim said that the army is constantly working on modernizing air defense means and adapting them to new challenges. Separately, the general explained why Gepard anti-aircraft systems were not deployed near the incident site. In peacetime conditions, he said, the military cannot deploy such systems anywhere without proper authorizations.
Romanian Defense Ministry spokesman Cristian Popovici also noted that the military cannot act in a way that would create an even greater danger to civilians.
He noted that the army operates within clear legal constraints and does not always have the ability to use weapons immediately after detecting an aerial target.
The Romanian Defense Ministry also said it continues to work on changes to legislation that will allow for a more effective response to such incidents in the future.