Russian drone aimed at Ukraine goes 'astray', crashes into Romania building

A Russian drone involved in an overnight assault on Ukraine veered off course and crashed into an apartment building in eastern Romania in the early hours of Friday, 29 May, injuring two people in the NATO member state and intensifying concerns about the war’s spillover risks along the alliance’s eastern border.

Romanian authorities said the drone entered the country’s airspace before slamming into the roof of a residential building in Galati, a city on the Danube River near the borders with Ukraine and Moldova. The impact triggered a fire, left two people with minor injuries and forced the evacuation of several residents.

Romania’s defence ministry said the drone had been tracked by radar after crossing into Romanian airspace. The military scrambled two F-16 fighter jets and a helicopter authorised to engage aerial threats, while emergency alerts were issued to residents in affected areas. However, Romanian forces did not fire on the drone.

Following the incident, Romania urged NATO to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to its armed forces, with the foreign ministry describing the drone’s trajectory over Romanian territory as a grave breach of international law.

The incident is the latest in a growing series of drone-related incursions affecting NATO countries since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, fuelling anxieties about the vulnerability of the alliance’s eastern flank.

General Gheorghe Maxim, acting commander of Romania’s joint military staff, sought to temper fears of a direct military escalation while underscoring the broader security threat posed by Moscow. “This was not an attack by Russia against Romania,” he told reporters on Friday, adding that Romanians nevertheless “should understand that Russia is a threat to the security of countries in the region”.

The drone strike unfolded amid another large-scale Russian aerial assault on Ukraine. According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia launched 232 drones and one ballistic missile overnight. Ukrainian defences said they intercepted 217 drones, though strikes were recorded across 14 locations.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan convened an emergency meeting of the country’s top defence body, calling the Galati incident “the worst” to affect Romanian territory since the outbreak of the war.

“There is no ambiguity about the author and the cause of this assault,” Dan said in a Facebook post, directly blaming Russia. He expressed solidarity with those injured and residents who endured what he described as “terrible moments” inside their homes.

Following the meeting of Romania’s Supreme Council of National Defence in Bucharest, Dan announced that the Russian consul in the Black Sea city of Constanta had been declared persona non grata and that Romania would shut Russia’s consulate there. Russia maintains a separate embassy in Bucharest.

Although Romania has repeatedly recovered drone debris on its territory since the war began — including in Galati earlier this year — previous incidents largely involved sparsely populated areas and had not caused injuries.

The latest strike is likely to sharpen scrutiny of Romania’s air defence posture. Airspace breaches have become sufficiently frequent that Romanian lawmakers last year approved legislation allowing the military, as a last resort, to shoot down drones violating national airspace. Even so, authorities have generally exercised caution, mindful of the risks of intercepting drones over populated areas.

Drone incidents linked to the Ukraine conflict have increasingly affected Europe beyond Romania. In recent months, Ukrainian drones reportedly crashed into a power plant chimney in Estonia, struck unused fuel tanks in Latvia and were shot down by Romanian fighter jets deployed in Lithuania. Ukrainian officials apologised in those cases, saying the drones had been intended for military targets inside Russia but were diverted by Russian electronic jamming.

Since the war began more than four years ago, Poland, Croatia, Romania and non-NATO member Moldova have all reported airspace violations or discovered drone fragments on their territory. The repeated incidents have prompted renewed questions about the resilience of NATO’s eastern defences and the risk of unintended escalation.

NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte said he had spoken with Romania’s president and reaffirmed the alliance’s “absolute solidarity” with its ally.

“NATO stands ready to defend every inch of Allied territory,” Rutte said in a post on X, adding that the alliance would continue strengthening its readiness against emerging threats, including drones.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the strike, saying Russia had “crossed yet another line”. “A Russian drone incursion struck a densely populated area in Romania, injuring civilians,” she wrote on social media. “On EU territory.”

Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsahkna suggested that such incidents reflected mounting pressure on Moscow, saying the risks had increased because of “Putin’s growing nervousness” amid military setbacks.

While no formal NATO consultation had been scheduled on Friday, Romania retains the option of requesting alliance discussions if it concludes that its security or territorial integrity faces a direct threat.

With AP/PTI inputs