Romania's Supreme Council for National Defence (CSAT) convened on Friday at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace under the chairmanship of President Nicusor Dan following the incident in Galati in which a drone crashed into a residential block of flats.

Among those attending the meeting are interim Defence Minister Radu Miruta, interim Interior Minister Catalin Predoiu, interim Foreign Affairs Minister Oana Toiu, interim Economy Minister Ambrozie-Irineu Darau and interim Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare.

Interim Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan is not attending the CSAT meeting because he is on a visit to Chisinau.

President Nicusor Dan had previously announced that the CSAT would adopt 'proportionate measures in relation to the Russian Federation.'

'I firmly declare that responsibility for this incident lies entirely with the Russian Federation. What happened today in Galati is the direct consequence of the war of aggression unleashed by Russia against Ukraine, of the irresponsible and indiscriminate manner in which Moscow operates these weapon systems in the immediate vicinity of NATO borders and of its systematic disregard for international law. There is no ambiguity whatsoever regarding the author and cause of this aggression,' the head of state stressed in a Facebook post, his first official reaction since the incident occurred.

According to the president, 'a full investigation has been launched into the circumstances of the drone crash and technical examinations have been ordered to recover the fragments in order to accurately identify the type of weapon and its trajectory.'

'Romania is a NATO member state and will under no circumstances accept that the war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine be transferred onto its citizens. Defending the national territory and the citizens of Romania remains my supreme duty under the Constitution. It is a duty whose fulfilment we undertake together with our allies and today, as every day, we are stronger together. Romania's support for Ukraine - politically, humanitarianly, militarily and on the path towards European integration - remains unwavering. The longer Russia continues this war, the clearer becomes the need for it to end through a just and lasting peace that respects Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity,' President Nicusor Dan underlined.

On the night of Thursday to Friday, at around 2:00 a.m., a drone crashed into a residential building in the municipality of Galati, with the impact followed by an explosion and the outbreak of a fire in a flat on the 10th floor of the block of flats.

Approximately 70 people were evacuated from the building.

Romania informed its allies and the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance about the incident and requested measures to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to the country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday morning.

Teams of specialists from the National Defence Ministry, the Interior Ministry and the Romanian Intelligence Service are continuing investigations at the scene.

According to the National Defence Ministry, the entire payload of the Russian-provenance Geran-2 drone exploded on impact.

The Ministry of Health announced that the two people injured in Galati are in stable condition and are hospitalised for medical investigations and specialist treatment, with no need for transfer to another medical unit. They are a 53-year-old woman admitted to the Galati County Emergency Clinical Hospital, the Plastic Surgery Ward, suffering first and second-degree burns to her legs with retained foreign objects (glass), and a 14-year-old boy admitted to the 'Sf. Ioan' Galati Children's Emergency Clinical Hospital, the Surgery Ward, with burns to his forearms but no respiratory problems. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Andreea Rotaru; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)