Romania’s forensic report confirms the Galați drone was a Russian Geran-2

Romania has formally concluded that the drone which struck an apartment block in the city of Galați was a Russian-made Geran-2, according to President Nicușor Dan. A finalized state technical report puts the blame for the strike squarely on Moscow and pushes the war onto NATO's doorstep. Bucharest will hand its findings to allies, and Ukraine's leadership reads the incident as a deliberate Russian message.

The forensic fingerprint

Romanian specialists tied the Galați wreckage to Russia through a consistent body of evidence. President Dan said so when he published the report. On one recovered fragment, they found the Cyrillic inscription "ГЕРАНЬ-2." Its electronic components, navigation systems, command modules, and engine matched other Geran-2 drones recovered earlier on Romanian soil. Those earlier drones had already been identified as Russian-built.

The engine recovered from the drone that hit a residential building in Galați, Romania, on 29 May 2026, showing the inscription "1346/11". Photo: Nicușor Dan / X

The report added that the manufacturing markings, technical inscriptions, and materials followed the same production process seen in Geran-2 drones over recent years. Laboratory analysis found the same materials and fuels that recur in this series of munitions. 

A recovered fragment of the drone, marked with forensic scales, that hit a residential building in Galați, Romania, on 29 May 2026. Photo: Nicușor Dan / X

Dan called the strike a matter of grave concern, given that the drone hit an apartment building and caused injuries and damage. He said plainly that "the only one responsible is Russia." 

A stamped technical marking on a fragment of the drone that hit a residential building in Galați, Romania, on 29 May 2026. Photo: Nicușor Dan / X

The President framed the safety of Romanian citizens and the country's territory as fundamental duties of the state, to be defended firmly. He said the investigation's results would go to allies and to the competent bodies within NATO and the European Union. Romania, he added, would keep working with partners to harden security along the alliance's eastern border.

Kyiv calls it a Kremlin message

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reads the Galați strike as a deliberate signal from Moscow. He called it a Kremlin attempt to pressure allies and to tell them to stop helping Ukraine. In an interview with CBS, Zelenskyy said Russia was probing how NATO would react and testing the air defenses of countries near its borders. The alliance's response, he argued, "has to be stronger from the unity of NATO countries."

A man holds a Sting interceptor drone, costing $2,100 and reaching up to 343 km/h, next to a downed Russian Shahed-136 for scale. Photo: Wild Hornets

The strike has already drawn one concrete military move. Italy decided to send 100 troops to Romania. The soldiers are due to arrive on 15 June and stay for a month. Romania is a NATO and EU member, so the incident reaches beyond the war on Ukraine and touches the whole alliance's security.