Russia Blames Ukraine for Galati Drone; NATO and Romania Reject Deflection; Counter-Drone Measures Announced

Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on May 30, 2026 formally denied responsibility for the Geran-2 drone strike on the Galati apartment building (May 28–29), claiming the drone was 'likely Ukrainian' and accusing Romania of 'exploiting the incident for confrontation as part of a NATO-EU playbook.' Russia's embassy in Bucharest issued a statement urging Romania not to 'manipulate' the event for political purposes. The Russian deflection was rejected by NATO, Romania, and the United States. **Romania's formal response:** Romania completed the diplomatic sequence announced May 29 — the Russian Consul-General in Constanta was formally declared persona non grata and departed, and the Russian Consulate General in Constanta was officially closed. Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu reiterated that Russia is 'fully responsible' for all Shahed-class drones that cross Ukrainian borders, regardless of intended targets. Romania called Russia's claim 'a transparent disinformation operation' and formally protested through the Russian Ambassador summoned to Bucharest. **NATO counter-drone response:** NATO announced it is coordinating with Romania to bring the Romanian MEROPS (Mobile Electronic Radar, Observation, and Protection System) counter-drone network under NATO command and to expedite allied anti-drone capability transfers to Romanian forces. Romania's Armed Forces Chief General Maxim confirmed that the current radar and intercept coverage over the Danube delta area is insufficient to consistently detect and engage low-flying Shahed-class drones flying at terrain-masking altitude. NATO's Eastern Sentry mission — the alliance's Black Sea air surveillance and protection effort — is being reviewed in light of the Galati incident, which marked the first civilian casualties from a Russian drone strike on NATO territory. **US condemnation:** The US State Department formally condemned Russia's deflection, stating that 'Russia bears full responsibility for the consequences of its illegal war of aggression, including this attack on NATO territory and its disinformation response.' The US statement came alongside continued US diplomatic backing of Romania's expulsion of the Russian consul and the closure of the Constanta Consulate General — representing the most active US public defense of a NATO ally's right to respond to Russian encroachment since the full-scale invasion began. **Strategic significance:** Russia's 'blame Ukraine' framing is the same tactic deployed after the November 2022 Przewodów incident (Polish territory struck by a Ukrainian S-300 missile diverted during Russian missile salvos). In that case, the 'Ukrainian error' attribution ultimately relieved pressure on the alliance. In the Galati case, the drone's design (Shahed-136/Geran-2) is unambiguously Russian-produced and Russian-deployed — the attribution deflection is less credible and more diplomatically consequential. The incident arrives alongside the unresolved NATO-US hardware cut crisis (Spiegel, May 26) and 38 days before the Ankara Leaders' Summit (July 7–8), which will now include NATO's first civilian casualties from a Russian drone strike on alliance territory as a defining backdrop.