Early Friday morning, a Russian drone struck an apartment building in the Romanian city of Galati, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict.
The drone which had been targeting infrastructure in neighboring Ukraine drifted into NATO-member Romania’s airspace. The impact on the residential roof sparked a fire and left two people injured.
While drone debris has landed in Romania previously, this is the first time a strike has hit a populated residential area and caused casualties.
In response, Romania scrambled two scrambled two F-16 fighter jets to monitor the situation.
President Nicusor Dan convened an emergency meeting of the national security council declaring, “Romania will not accept, under any circumstances, that the war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine be transferred to its citizens.”
The incident has drawn sharp condemnation from international leaders. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte addressed the alliance’s stance, stating:
“Russia’s reckless behaviour is a danger to us all. I affirmed that NATO stands ready to defend every inch of Allied territory.”
Bucharest has since requested additional NATO air defense support and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in the port city of Constanta as a diplomatic sanction.
