A drone crashed into a residential building in the Romanian city of Galați near the border with Ukraine’s Odesa region. The impact triggered an explosion and fire in an apartment on the tenth floor.
According to Romanian authorities, two people suffered minor injuries. Around 70 residents were evacuated from the building, and the fire has since been extinguished. Romanian intelligence services said the drone’s explosive payload fully detonated after the impact.
Shortly before the incident, air raid alerts were declared in the counties of Galați, Brăila, and Tulcea. Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled, with crews authorized to engage targets throughout the alert period. Romanian outlet Digi24, citing military sources, reported that the drone was not intercepted.
Romania’s Foreign Ministry stated that the drone was a Russian UAV involved in strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure. “A drone participating in the bombardment of infrastructure targets in Ukraine crashed in Romania, in the city of Galați, causing a fire on the roof of a residential building. This incident represents a serious and irresponsible escalation by the Russian Federation. Romania will take the necessary diplomatic measures in response to this serious violation of international law and its airspace,” the ministry said in a statement.
Following the incident, Bucharest also appealed to NATO to accelerate deliveries of counter-drone systems.