Ukraine war: Romania says Russian drone hit residential building near its border

The Ministry of Defense of Romania, a NATO member country, said on Friday May 29 that a Russian drone hit a residential building on its territory and caused two minor injuries in the town of Galati, near the border with Ukraine.

“The Russian Federation has resumed drone attacks against civilian targets and infrastructure in Ukraine, near the river border with Romania. One of these drones entered Romanian airspace, was tracked by radar to the southern part of the city of Galati, and then crushed on the roof of an apartment building, causing a fire upon impact,” the ministry wrote in a press release.

When the drones were detected near Romanian airspace, two F-16 fighters took off from the Fetesti air base in eastern Romania and were “allowed to engage the targets for the duration of the alert,” he added.

The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced “a serious and irresponsible escalation” by Moscow. “This incident constitutes a serious and irresponsible escalation on the part of the Russian Federation,” the ministry wrote in a press release. “Romania informed its allies and the NATO Secretary General of the situation and requested that measures be taken to accelerate the transfer of means of combating drones to Romania,” he added.

Not the first Russian incursion into Romania

According to the Romanian emergency services, the drone’s entire charge exploded and the two occupants of the affected apartment, who were able to evacuate the building on their own, were treated on site for abrasions.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, drone incursions in Romania have been detected on several occasions, but this is the first time that one of these machines has fallen on a residential building.

In Ukraine, a national air alert was triggered during the night from Thursday to Friday in anticipation of new Russian raids, before being lifted a few hours later. At least two people were injured in Zaporizhia (south) in a fire sparked by an attack, according to regional authorities.

Russian offensives in Ukraine have been intensifying for several days: during the night from Saturday to Sunday, Russia launched a particularly devastating bombardment against the country, using more than 600 drones, around 35 ballistic missiles and around fifty cruise missiles.