MOSCOW (Reuters) - Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia's powerful Security Council, warned European leaders on Friday that drones would continue to stray into their countries and prevent their populations from sleeping peacefully.
Medvedev spoke out after NATO accused Moscow of reckless behaviour and pledged to "defend every inch of Allied territory" after Romania said a Russian drone had crashed into an apartment block in the alliance member state during an attack on neighbouring Ukraine.
Medvedev said it still needed to be ascertained which country the drone belonged to, but said that Europe's "impotent" leaders should stop expressing outrage over the incident since they were directly participating in a war against Russia.
"Let them get ready: this will continue to happen," Medvedev said in a statement. "There is a war going on! And the citizens of EU states, as the population of the belligerent countries, will not be able to sleep peacefully."
He said such incidents were particularly likely to continue in places where drones were being made for Ukraine.
"After all, European drones, spare parts for them, and other weapons, not to mention intelligence, are used in attacks on our country every day. As a result of their actions, residential buildings are being damaged, in which our civilians are dying," said Medvedev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had been informed about the drone incident in Romania, the TASS state news agency reported earlier on Friday, and the Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow would respond swiftly to Romania's retaliatory decision to close down the Russian consulate in Constanta.