Russian Geran-2 attack drone with explosive warhead crashes into residential garden

On the morning of 22 January 2026, at around 9:30, a drone was discovered in a residential garden in the village of Crocmaz, in Moldova's Ștefan Vodă district, according to Moldova 1. The outlet reported that the General Police Inspectorate (IGP) determined the device, measuring about 2.5 metres in length, was active and contained an explosive device. The house in whose garden it landed was reportedly unoccupied at the time.

Specialists from the police Technical-Explosive Section were deployed to the site, Moldova 1 reported. Residents were evacuated from the danger zone and a controlled detonation of the device was planned. The article does not report any casualties or damage to property.

Moldova 1 cited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), which described such incidents as a grave violation of Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity and condemned Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. The article noted that around 20 drones have fallen on Moldovan territory in connection with Russian strikes on Ukraine, and that technical examinations found most were unarmed decoys of the "Gerbera" type. It added that Russia's ambassador had previously demanded proof that fallen drones were Russian-made.

Reporting frames the incident within Russia's air campaign against Ukraine, with Moldova's foreign ministry condemning Moscow's war of aggression. The outlet does not state that this drone's Russian origin has been officially confirmed, however, and notes that Moscow has previously disputed such claims, so Russian responsibility should be treated as suspected rather than proven. Notably, the only drone type named in the reporting is the unarmed "Gerbera" decoy; the live explosive device the police reported here would set this case apart from most earlier finds on Moldovan soil.