A Russian drone struck an apartment building in NATO-member Romania early yesterday, wounding two people and prompting strong condemnation from the Atlantic alliance and the EU.
Bucharest summoned the Russian ambassador and Romanian President Nicusor Dan convened a national defense council meeting to discuss “the most serious incident to have affected our national territory” since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
The drone smashed into the apartment building in the city of Galati, close to the border with Ukraine, sparking a fire, and sending a 14-year-old boy and a 53-year-old woman to hospital with serious injuries, officials said. Drone incursions in Romania have been detected dozens of times since the start of the war, but the strike marked the first time a residential building has been hit.
Photo: George Calin via Reuters
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Russia’s “war of aggression had crossed yet another line” with the strike.
“We stand in full solidarity with Romania and its people,” she said on social media, pledging to increase deterrence on the EU’s Eastern border and “to keep increasing pressure on Russia.”
NATO condemned Moscow’s “recklessness” and vowed “absolute solidarity” with Romania, while French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot slammed what he called “an irresponsible act.”
“Russia’s reckless behavior is a danger to us all,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte wrote on social media. “I affirmed that NATO stands ready to defend every inch of Allied territory.”
Moldovan President Maia Sandu said Russia was a “danger to all.”
“During the night of May 28-29, the Russian Federation resumed drone attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine, near the river border with Romania,” the Romanian Ministry of National Defense said. “One of these drones entered Romanian airspace, was tracked by radar as far as the southern part of the city of Galati, and crashed onto the roof of an apartment building, with the impact triggering a fire.”
Two F-16 jets were scrambled after the drones were detected in Romanian airspace, the ministry said.
“This incident represents a serious and irresponsible escalation on the part of the Russian Federation,” it said, adding that Bucharest had “requested measures to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to Romania.”
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