Drone fallout shakes Romania as lawmakers push for defence minister’s exit

Romanian senators from the Social Democratic Party have called for the resignation of acting Defence Minister Radu Miruță following an incident involving a Shahed drone that crashed into a residential building in the border city of Galați.

According to Digi24, the demand was made by the Social Democratic Party faction in Romania’s Senate. The senators called for the minister’s “immediate and final” resignation, saying the incident in Galați was “a demonstration of what happens when irresponsibility prevails over the safety of citizens.”

The statement noted that this was not the first case of Russian drones entering Romanian airspace. The Social Democrats argued that countries such as Poland and Estonia have adapted far more effectively to such threats.

“We demand the immediate resignation of Radu Miruță from a position from which he has effectively already been dismissed, because the country’s defence and the safety of citizens are not a game for amateurs,” the faction said.

Earlier this spring, Romania’s Social Democrats withdrew from the ruling coalition, leaving the government operating in a caretaker capacity while consultations continue on forming a new cabinet.

The incident occurred during the night of May 29 amid a Russian attack on southern Ukraine, when a drone struck the roof of a 10-story residential building in Galați.

By Jeyhun Aghazada