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NATO sharply denounced Russia on Friday after a Russian drone struck an apartment building in Romania, wounding two people in the latest spillover from the war in Ukraine.
"NATO condemns Russia's recklessness," alliance spokesperson Allison Hart said after the incident, adding that Secretary-General Mark Rutte was in contact with Romanian officials following the strike.
The drone hit a residential building in the southeastern Romanian city of Galati overnight as Russia launched a new wave of attacks against targets in neighboring Ukraine, Romania's Defense Ministry reported.
According to the ministry, the drone entered Romanian airspace during the attacks, was tracked by radar over southern Galati and eventually crashed into the roof of an apartment building, sparking a fire. Two people suffered injuries and were taken to hospital, while emergency crews later extinguished the blaze.
Romanian officials described the incident as a "serious and irresponsible escalation" by Russia and warned that repeated cross-border incursions are creating growing risks for both Romanian citizens and NATO territory.
Following the strike, Bucharest informed NATO leadership and requested faster delivery of anti-drone systems, according to Romania's Defense Ministry. It also argued that such incidents pose a threat not only to national security but also to NATO's collective defense framework.
The alliance member has recorded dozens of drone incursions linked to the war since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, authorities said this was the first known case in which a drone struck a residential building inside Romania.
Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled after the drone was detected in Romanian airspace.
The incident came amid another night of intense aerial attacks across the region. Ukraine's navy reported that a Russian drone struck a Turkish-owned cargo ship departing from Odesa, triggering a fire and injuring two crew members.
Meanwhile, Russian authorities claimed their air defenses intercepted more than 200 Ukrainian drones overnight.
The latest exchanges followed a series of large-scale Russian attacks on Ukraine last weekend, among the heaviest bombardments since the start of the war. Moscow has also threatened to intensify strikes in response to a Ukrainian attack that Russian officials said killed 21 people at a school in Russian-occupied territory.
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