Russian drone hits Romanian apartment building, injuring two

A Russian drone struck a residential building in the eastern Romanian city of Galați early Friday, injuring two people and triggering a fire. The incident marks the first time Romanian citizens have been hurt by a Russian drone since the war in Ukraine began.

Romania's defense ministry confirmed the drone crashed into the apartment block as Russia carried out attacks across the border in Ukraine. Emergency services said the drone's entire explosive load detonated on impact, starting a fire on the 10th floor of the building. Two people were treated for light injuries, and around 70 residents were evacuated while firefighters extinguished the fire.

Two F-16 fighter jets had been scrambled after the drones were detected in Romanian airspace, the defense ministry said, with radar tracking one of the drones as far as the southern part of the city before it came down.

Bucharest condemned the strike in forceful terms, calling it "a serious and irresponsible escalation on the part of the Russian Federation." Romania's foreign ministry said it had informed the NATO secretary general and formally requested the accelerated transfer of anti-drone capabilities to the country. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Russia's war "has crossed yet another line" and announced that the EU is preparing a 21st package of sanctions against Moscow. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called the strike "a blatant and serious violation of Romania's sovereignty and European airspace," adding that Moscow "cannot be allowed to breach European airspace with impunity." 

NATO also weighed in, with a spokesperson condemning what it called "Russia's recklessness" and pledging to strengthen defenses against drone threats. European Council President António Costa expressed solidarity with Romania and called the strike a violation of Romania's airspace and international law, adding that the EU would step up pressure on Moscow through sanctions.

The River Danube, which runs near Galați, forms the border with Ukraine, and Ukrainian ports along the waterway are frequent targets of Russian air attacks. An earlier Russian drone caused property damage in Galați in April without injuring anyone. Romania's defense ministry said drone fragments have now been found on Romanian territory on 47 separate occasions since the start of the war, 12 of them in 2026 alone.

Russia had not commented on the incident as of the time of publication. Overnight, Ukraine also issued a nationwide air raid alert, with officials in the south reporting a drone attack on the port of Izmail in the Odesa region.