Medvedev Warns Europe of More Drone Incidents

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, warned European leaders that drones would continue to fly into their countries and that their citizens "will not be able to sleep peacefully".

He was responding to an incident in Romania in which a Russian drone crashed into an apartment building during an attack on neighbouring Ukraine, according to Bucharest. NATO subsequently accused Moscow of reckless behaviour and said it was ready to defend every inch of alliance territory.

Medvedev argued that it was first necessary to establish who the drone belonged to. He branded European leaders "impotent" and accused them of being directly involved in the war against Russia.

"Let them get ready: this will continue to happen", he said, adding that similar incidents were likely, particularly in countries that produce drones for Ukraine. He also claimed that European drones, spare parts, weapons and intelligence are used daily in attacks on Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the incident. Moscow separately said it would respond swiftly to Romania's decision to close the Russian consulate in Constanta.

(reuters, lud)