Russian drone hits a building in Romania; Injuries reported — NATO issues urgent response VIDEO

“Teams of experts from the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Romanian Intelligence Service are continuing the investigation in the area of the residential building in Galați, where the drone crashed on the morning of May 29. According to initial information, the entire payload of the Geran-2 drone, of Russian origin, exploded upon impact,” the Romanian Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the incident as a serious and irresponsible escalation by the Russian Federation.

“This incident represents a serious and irresponsible escalation by the Russian Federation. Romania will take the necessary diplomatic measures in response to this grave violation of international law and its airspace.

Romania has informed the member states of the European Union, its allies, and the NATO Secretary General about the circumstances and has requested measures to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to Romania. The Russian Federation bears direct responsibility for these serious and irresponsible actions.

Romania will act with the utmost determination to increase international pressure on the Russian Federation with the goal of achieving an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire,” announced Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Țoiu.

NATO responds

NATO also reacted to the incident. Alliance spokesperson Allison Hart said that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is in contact with the Romanian authorities and that NATO condemns “Russian recklessness.”

“This morning, a drone struck a residential building in Romania in the context of Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure near the border. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is in contact with the Romanian authorities. We condemn Russian recklessness. NATO will continue to strengthen its defenses against all threats, including those posed by drones,” she wrote on X.

Woman and child injured

A 51-year-old woman and a 14-year-old child were injured in the explosion.

Cătălin Sion, spokesperson for the local fire department, confirmed that the injured victims were inside the apartment damaged in the blast, according to Libertatea.

“The drone struck the roof of the building, and the impact caused an explosion that affected the apartment below. It did not directly hit the apartment, but rather the roof. There were two people inside the apartment damaged by the explosion who sustained minor injuries: a 51-year-old woman and a 14-year-old child,” Sion said.

According to him, the woman and the child evacuated themselves and were later taken to the hospital with minor injuries and burns. Sion added that the drone exploded upon impact.

“One of the drones, whose radar signal entered national airspace from the direction of Reni at 1:54 a.m., was descending from an altitude of 600 meters. It also made several turns, the cause of which we are trying to determine. It disappeared from radar south of the city of Galați, and a few minutes later, a fire caused by the drone crashing onto the roof of a building was reported to the 112 emergency service,” Popovici added.

Journalists asked why the drone had not been shot down.

“This is a legitimate question, and citizens need to know that we are doing everything we can, but the military has very strict limitations in this situation because we cannot risk creating a greater danger than the one we are trying to prevent. The law allows us to open fire on these objects used in the conflict in Ukraine, but only under the condition that doing so protects civilian lives and property,” Popovici said.

The Ministry of Defence also specified that “the aircraft crews had authorization to engage targets throughout the entire alert period.”

The ministry stated that since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, drone fragments have been found on Romanian territory on 47 occasions. This year alone, 12 such incidents have already been recorded.