A Russian drone struck an apartment building in eastern Romania and exploded during an overnight attack on Ukraine, injuring two people, the Romanian government said Friday. The incident has raised alarms about Russian military activity spilling into NATO countries.
Romania’s Defense Ministry said the drone struck the roof of a block of flats in the city of Galati, about 10 miles from the Ukrainian border. Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled in response to Romanian radars detecting drones in national airspace.
President Nicusor Dan said the country was briefing NATO and European Union allies and had requested additional anti-drone capabilities. He called the breach “the most serious incident to affect the national territory” since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
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“Romania is a NATO member state and will not accept, in any way, the war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine to be transferred onto its citizens,” Dan said.
Russian drones have occasionally struck inside the borders of NATO countries since the war in Ukraine began, although most of the incursions have resulted in the drones being shot down or inflicting minimal damage.
The Russian government has not issued any comment on the affair.
