The Russian Consul General in Constanta has been declared persona non grata, Romanian President Dan said. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova said Moscow’s response would not take long.

The Consul General of Russia in Constanta, Andrei Kosilin, has been declared persona non grata in Romania. The consulate will be closed. This was announced by Romanian President Nicusor Dan, according to Digi24.

“Last night we had a serious incident in which two citizens were injured, and all responsibility lies with Russia. The Russian Consul General in Constanta has been declared persona non grata, and the consulate in Constanta will be closed,” he said. The Consulate General in Constanta is the only Russian consulate in Romania.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS that Moscow’s response to Romania’s decision would not take long. She added that the “hype” around the drone is needed by the West to divert attention from the Ukrainian Armed Forces strike on the college in Starobilsk.

A drone crashed into the roof of an apartment building in the Romanian city of Galac on the night of May 29. An explosion occurred, a fire started in an apartment on the 10th floor of the building, two people were injured, the Romanian Emergency Response Service (IGSU) reported. About 70 people were evacuated from the house. The country’s prosecutor’s office has opened a criminal case. Galac is located near the country’s border with Ukraine. The Romanian Ministry of Defense reported that two F-16 fighter jets and a military helicopter were scrambled to intercept the UAV, but in the end it was decided not to shoot down the drone.

According to the Romanian Department of Emergency Situations, the victims were hospitalized with minor injuries. Bild reported that NATO is convening an emergency meeting after the drone explosion.

The Romanian Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador Vladimir Lipaev after the incident. Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed about the incident with the UAV in Romania, said his press secretary Dmitry Peskov. Russian Deputy Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, commenting on the situation with the drone, wrote that it was necessary to figure out whose it was. At the same time, according to him, all EU countries should in any case “shut up on this topic.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier that Moscow never sends drones and missiles to European and NATO countries. The Ministry of Defense has repeatedly stressed that the targets of attacks are objects associated with the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the territory of Ukraine.