NATO member Romania said on Friday that a drone injured two people in a southeastern city during an overnight Russian attack on neighbouring Ukraine, the first time in the war that a drone had hit a densely populated area in Romania and caused injuries.
The incident in Romania, also a member of the European Union, was likely to increase tensions on NATO’s eastern flank at a time when Ukraine’s allies are worried about Russia’s war on its neighbour spilling over its borders.
“We condemn Russia’s recklessness, and NATO will continue to strengthen our defences against all threats, including drones,” a NATO spokesperson posted on X.
The drone hit the roof of a 10-storey block of flats in Galati and caused an explosion, the Romanian authorities said.
‘SERIOUS VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW’, ROMANIA SAYS
“Initial information indicates that the entire load of the Geran 2 drone, of Russian origin, exploded upon impact,” the defence ministry said in a statement.
Romania, which shares a 650-km (400-mile) land border with Ukraine, has experienced Russian drones breaching its airspace 28 times since Moscow began attacking Kyiv’s ports across the Danube River, Romania’s defence ministry said.
Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu called the incident a “serious violation of international law” and said that Bucharest had “requested measures to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to Romania”. She said the Russian ambassador had been summoned to the foreign ministry.
European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said Russia had “crossed yet another line”.
There was no immediate comment from the Russian defence ministry.
Ukrainian drones have strayed into Baltic countries’ airspace in recent weeks, sowing confusion and raising tensions with Russia.
F-16 JETS SCRAMBLED
The Romanian defence ministry said it scrambled two F-16 fighter jets and a military helicopter to monitor the attack, adding the pilots were authorised to shoot down any drones. The residents of border counties Braila, Galati and Tulcea were warned to take cover.
Romanian Brigadier General Gheorghe Maxim told a press conference that the drone was in Romania’s airspace for four minutes, flying low, making it difficult for radar to detect. He said the U.S. anti-drone system Merops was operational in Romania but would have been too risky to use in a city.
In Friday’s incident, a fire broke out in a 10th-floor apartment after the drone struck the building’s roof and exploded, Romania’s emergency response agency said. Two people were receiving medical treatment on site, it said, adding 70 people had evacuated.
State news agency Agerpres cited Galati’s emergency response agency as saying a woman and her child had been taken to hospital with minor injuries while two others had been treated on site for panic attacks.
DRONE WITH UNEXPLODED PAYLOAD ALSO REPORTED
Deputy Interior Minister Raed Arafat, who is in charge of the emergency response agency, told private broadcaster Digi24 the drone affected two building stairwells and damaged five cars.
In a separate incident, a drone without an explosive charge was found around Basesti in Maramures county in northwestern Romania and the area was secured, state TVR broadcaster said late on Thursday, citing local authorities.
The authorities were investigating the origin of the drone, which the report said had a wingspan of about 3 metres (10 feet), and how it happened to be in the area, TVR added.