Russian drone targeting Ukraine goes astray, crashes into apartment building in NATO member Romania

By STEPHEN McGRATH and NICOLAE DUMITRACHE

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A Russian drone that was part of an overnight attack on Ukraine and then went astray slammed into an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people in the NATO member country, Romanian authorities said, adding to concerns that the war could spread across the alliance’s borders.

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The Russian drone was tracked by radar in Romanian airspace and crashed onto the roof of the building in the city of Galati, Romania’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. The impact was followed by a fire. The two people suffered minor injuries, and several others were evacuated.

The Romanian military scrambled two F-16 fighter jets and a helicopter that were authorized to engage targets, and alert messages were sent to residents of the affected areas. But the aircraft didn’t engage or shoot at the drone to bring it down.

Romania asked NATO for a faster transfer of anti-drone capabilities to its military, the Foreign Ministry said, calling the drone’s flight a serious violation of international law.

The incursion was the latest in a litany of drone incidents — from both Russia and Ukraine — to afflict NATO member states and leave the 32-member trans-Atlantic organization on edge, drawing strong condemnation from Romania’s allies.

Gen. Gheorghe Maxim, a stand-in commander for the Romanian armed forces’ joint staff, told a news conference on Friday that the strike in Galati wasn’t “an attack from Russia against Romania,” but “Romanians should understand that Russia is a threat to the security of the countries in the area.”

Galati is on the Danube River, near the borders of Ukraine and Moldova.

Ukrainian forces shot down 217 drones overnight on Friday, according to the country’s air force. In total, Russia attacked with 232 drones and one ballistic missile. Strikes were recorded in 14 areas, the air force said.

Romania calls it the worst of many incidents

While Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its territory on multiple occasions since the war started on Feb. 24, 2022, including in Galati in April this year, no one has previously been hurt in any of the drone incidents, in which many landed in remote areas.

In response to the latest incursion, Romanian President Nicusor Dan convened the NATO member’s top defense body for a meeting on Friday to discuss the implications of what he called “the worst incident to hit the national territory” since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and blamed Russia directly for the incident.

“We will have proportional measures in relation to the Russian Federation. … There is no ambiguity about the author and the cause of this assault,” he wrote in a post on Facebook. He said that his thoughts are with the injured people, families and residents “who experienced terrible moments in their own homes.”

After the Supreme Council of National Defense meeting in Bucharest, Dan said that the Russian consul in the Black Sea port city of Constanta has been declared persona non grata and that the consulate there will be closed. Russia also has an embassy in Romania’s capital, Bucharest.

In recent years, airspace violations have become so common in Romania that lawmakers adopted legislation last year allowing the army to shoot down drones entering its airspace as a last resort. But Romania has remained cautious in downing errant drones, which can pose risks to populated areas.

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Russia has been using long-range ballistic missiles and drones to damage Ukraine’s power grid and hammer cities, and Ukraine has braced for further heavy bombardments.

The latest incident adds to recent drone-related problems posed to Europe. Over the past few months, Ukrainian drones have crashed into the chimney of a power plant in Estonia, hit empty fuel tanks in Latvia and been shot down by Romanian fighter jets stationed in Lithuania. Ukrainian officials apologized and said that the drones were aimed at military targets inside Russia, but were sent off course by Russian electronic interference.

Since the war started nearly 4½ year ago, Poland, Croatia, Romania and non-NATO member Moldova have reported airspace violations and have found drone fragments on their territory.

The string of airspace violations has prompted questions about the state of air defenses on NATO’s eastern flank.

Allies rally to condemn incursion

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that he had spoken to Romania’s president and expressed the organization’s “absolute solidarity” with its ally.

Rutte said in an X post that he “affirmed that NATO stands ready to defend every inch of Allied territory. We will continue to enhance our readiness to deter and defend against any threat, including from drones.”

NATO allies are talking informally about the incursion, but no official meeting about it was due to take place on Friday. Romania can request formal NATO consultations, if it feels that it’s territory or security is under threat.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also said the incident showed that Russia “has crossed yet another line.” She said the EU will keep strengthening security along its eastern border and was actively drafting another set of sanctions against Russia, the 21st so far.

“A Russian drone incursion struck a densely populated area in Romania, injuring civilians,” she wrote in a social media post. “On EU territory.”

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that the risk of such “serious incidents” was raised by “ Putin’s increasing nervousness, driven by military setbacks.”

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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Stephen McGrath reported from Leamington Spa, England.