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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Politics
Helen Corbett

Russian ambassador summoned by Foreign Office over Romanian drone incident

Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the UK Andrei Kelin was summoned to the Foreign Office (Aaron Chown/PA) - (PA Archive)

Vladimir Putin’s representative in the UK has been summoned to the Foreign Office after a Russian drone struck a building in Romania.

The Russian ambassador in London Andrei Kelin was called in for a dressing down over the incident last week which left two people injured and violated the airspace of a Nato member state.

The incident saw a drone crash into a block of flats in the eastern Romanian city of Galati, near the country’s border with Ukraine.

A Foreign Office (FCDO) spokesman said: “Injuring innocent civilians on Nato territory is unacceptable and a stark reminder of the threat that Ukrainian civilians are having to endure on a daily basis.”

Mr Kelin was summoned to meet a senior official who “strongly condemned this grave escalation”, the spokesman said.

The drone crash led to a fire breaking out in a block of flats in Galati, eastern Romania (ISU Galati via AP) (AP)
The drone crash led to a fire breaking out in a block of flats in Galati, eastern Romania (ISU Galati via AP) (AP)

“Russia continues to show blatant disregard for civilian life, firing hundreds of drones and missiles into Ukraine and threatening its near neighbours. Recent warnings for diplomats to leave Kyiv were irresponsible and unjustified,” the spokesman said.

“The UK stands firmly with Ukraine, Romania and all of our Nato allies and we will defend every inch of Nato territory.”

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