BUCHAREST — A Russian drone crashed into a residential apartment building in eastern Romania near the Ukrainian border, injuring two civilians and prompting a diplomatic protest from Bucharest, Romanian authorities said on Friday.
Romania’s Defense Ministry said the drone entered Romanian airspace during an overnight Russian attack targeting areas of neighboring Ukraine along the Danube River. The drone struck the roof of an apartment building in the city of Galați, causing an explosion and a fire that emergency crews later extinguished.
Two people suffered minor injuries and received medical treatment, according to Romanian emergency services. Several residents were evacuated from the building as firefighters responded to the scene and assessed structural damage.
“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 Defense Ministry said in a statement. The ministry said the drone was tracked by radar before crashing into the residential building.
Romanian military authorities scrambled two F-16 fighter jets and a military helicopter after detecting drones near the border, officials said. The aircraft were authorized to monitor and respond to potential threats, but the drone struck the building before it could be intercepted.
Romania’s Foreign Ministry described the incident as a serious violation of international law and summoned Russia’s ambassador for consultations. Foreign Minister Oana Toiu said authorities had confirmed the drone was of Russian origin.
“We have confirmation from the Ministry of National Defense that the drone which crashed into a residential building in Galați was of Russian origin,” Toiu said in a statement posted on social media.
The incident marked the first known case in which civilians were injured in Romania as a result of a drone linked to Russia’s military operations against Ukraine, according to Romanian officials and international media reports. Since the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022, Romanian authorities have reported multiple cases of drone debris and airspace violations near the border, although previous incidents largely occurred in sparsely populated areas.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte condemned the incursion and reaffirmed the alliance’s commitment to defending member states. In a statement, he said NATO remained prepared to protect “every inch of allied territory.”
Russia has not publicly accepted responsibility for the incident. Russian officials questioned claims about the drone’s origin and requested access to available evidence, according to reports from several news organizations.
The crash occurred amid intensified Russian drone attacks against Ukrainian infrastructure and port facilities near the Danube, a region bordering Romania and Moldova. Ukrainian officials reported large-scale overnight drone strikes across multiple regions.
As of Saturday, Romanian authorities said investigations into the crash were continuing. Government officials were also seeking additional NATO support for anti-drone defenses along the alliance’s eastern flank, while emergency teams remained at the site in Galați.
