A Russian drone crashed into an apartment building in eastern Romania during an overnight attack on Ukraine, injuring two people and prompting strong condemnation from Nato and European leaders.
The drone struck a residential building in the city of Galati near Romania’s border with Ukraine, sparking a fire and injuring a 14-year-old boy and a 53-year-old woman, news agency AFP reported.
Romanian authorities said the drone had entered Romanian airspace during a fresh wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine and was tracked by radar before crashing.
Romania’s defence ministry described the incident as a “serious and irresponsible escalation” by Russia and said Bucharest had requested Nato to speed up the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to the Romanian military.
Romania says incident most serious since war began
Romanian President Nicusor Dan convened the country’s top defence council on Friday, calling it “the worst incident to hit the national territory” since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“There is no ambiguity about the author and the cause of this assault,” Dan wrote on Facebook, directly blaming Russia.
According to news agency AP, Romanian forces scrambled two F-16 fighter jets and a helicopter after the drone was detected in Romanian airspace. Emergency alerts were also issued to residents in affected areas.
General Gheorghe Maxim, acting commander of Romania’s joint staff, said the drone crash was “not an attack from Russia against Romania”, but warned that “Russia is a threat to the security of the countries in the area”.
Romanian officials said the military did not have enough time to safely shoot down the drone, with only four minutes available before impact.
Russia warns of retaliation after Romania expels diplomat
Russia warned of retaliatory steps after Romania announced the expulsion of a Russian diplomat and the closure of Moscow’s consulate in Constanta following the drone crash in Galati.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told state-run RIA Novosti that Moscow’s response “will not be long in coming”. She described the Western reaction to the drone incident as a “fuss”.
“Retaliatory measures in response to the declaration of the Russian Consul General as persona non grata and the closure of the Consulate General will not be long in coming,” Zakharova said.
Earlier, Romanian President Nicusor Dan said the Russian consul general in the Black Sea city of Constanta had been declared persona non grata and that the consulate would be shut down.
“Russia bears full responsibility for this incident... In light of this situation, the Russian Federation's Consul General in Constanta has been declared persona non grata, and the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Constanta will be closed,” Dan said in a video statement.
Nato, EU leaders condemn incursion
Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte expressed “absolute solidarity” with Romania and said the alliance stood ready to “defend every inch of Allied territory”.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Russia had “crossed yet another line” by allowing a drone strike to hit “EU territory”.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrote on X, "Germany stands with our NATO allies. The incident once again underscores the need for strong NATO posture on the Eastern flank. We are ready to defend every inch of allied territory."
German foreign minister Johann Wadephul, British foreign secretary Yvette Cooper and several other European leaders also condemned the incident.
Fresh attacks on Ukraine
The incident came as Russia launched another major drone attack on Ukraine overnight.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 232 drones and one ballistic missile, with Ukrainian forces shooting down 217 drones.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the United States to accelerate deliveries of Patriot air defence missiles, warning that American stockpiles were being strained by the ongoing Iran conflict.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also warned the UN Security Council that the escalation risked spiralling “out of control” and called for “a full and unconditional ceasefire”.
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