Putin urges Romania to turn drone that struck apartment building over to Russia
Putin denies Russian drone struck Romania
Russian president Vladimir Putin has cast doubt on whether a drone that hit an apartment block in Romania was from Russia.
Asked about the strike during a state visit to Astana, Kazakhstan, Putin said its origin was yet to be determined, telling reporters that “no one can say what origin a particular aircraft has until it has been examined.”
He urged Romania to turn the drone over to Russia for it to conduct “an objective investigation.” Romanian President Nicusor Dan identified the drone as Russian.
“We had a Russian drone, Geran-2, leaving Russia. We know the trajectory, we know where it went through Ukraine, we know where it entered Romania, part of a swarm of 43 Russian drones, of which only one reached Romanian territory,” a statement from Dan said.
Gen. Gheorghe Maxim, interim commander of the Romanian armed forces’ joint staff, told a news conference that the drone in Galati wasn’t “an attack from Russia against Romania,” but he added that “Romanians should understand that Russia is a threat to the security of the countries in the area.”
