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Romania said Friday that a drone injured two people in the southeastern city of Galati during an overnight Russian attack on neighbouring Ukraine, the first time in the war that a drone had hit a densely populated area in the NATO and EU member and caused injuries.
The incident was likely to increase tensions on NATO’s eastern flank at a time when Ukraine’s allies are worried about Russia’s war on its neighbour spilling over its borders.
The drone hit the roof of a 10-storey apartment block in Galati and caused an explosion, the Romanian authorities said.
“Initial information indicates that the entire load of the Geran 2 drone, of Russian origin, exploded upon impact,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement.
Canada stands with Romania and strongly condemns last night’s reckless Russian drone incursion in Galați, which injured two people. Another escalation in Russia’s unjust war of aggression against Ukraine. <br> <br>This incident is a serious violation of Romanian airspace and…
—MarkJCarney
The incident led to widespread condemnation from alliance members, including from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance stands ready to defend every inch of its territory.
“Russia’s reckless behaviour is a danger to us all,” Rutte said in a post on X. “Last night showed yet again that the implications of their illegal war of aggression don’t stop at the border.”
“We will continue to strengthen our deterrence and defence at home and continue our support for Ukraine as they defend against Russia’s aggression.”
Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that strengthening Ukraine’s air defence was a “strategic task” to protect not only Ukraine but also to reduce risks for neighbouring countries.
“Ukraine stands firmly by Romania. We are ready to work closely together to strengthen protection from such threats,” Sybiha said on X.
Matthew Whitaker, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, said: “Our thoughts are with the injured in Galati. We will defend every inch of NATO territory.”
Russia’s TASS news agency cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying President Vladimir Putin had been informed about the incident. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said all the accusations about Russian drones flying in Europe were unsubstantiated, RIA reported.
F-16 jets scrambled
Romanian President Nicusor Dan said the Russian consulate in the southeastern city of Constanta would be closed and the consul expelled as a result of the incident.
Romania, which shares a 650-kilometre land border with Ukraine, has had Russian drones in its airspace 28 times since Moscow began attacking Kyiv’s ports across the Danube River, Romania’s Defence Ministry said.
Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu called the latest incursion a “serious violation of international law” and said that Bucharest had “requested measures to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to Romania.” She said the Russian ambassador had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry.
Romania says it scrambled two F-16 fighter jets and a military helicopter to monitor the attack, adding the pilots were authorized to shoot down any drones. The residents of the border counties Braila, Galati and Tulcea were warned to take cover.
Romanian Brig.-Gen. Gheorghe Maxim told a news conference that the drone was in Romania’s airspace for four minutes, flying low, making it difficult for radar to detect. He said the U.S. anti-drone system Merops was operational in Romania but would have been too risky to use in a city.
There have been multiple airspace incursions into NATO airspace since Moscow invaded Ukraine, most notably when more than 20 Russian drones entered Poland’s airspace last September.
More recently, Ukrainian drones have strayed into Baltic countries’ airspace, sowing confusion and raising tensions with Russia.
NATO is on the lookout for airspace threats over eastern Europe as suspicious drone sightings continue to shut down airports. For The National, CBC’s Briar Stewart gets a closer look at the Operation Eastern Sentry mission and what it’s watching for in the skies
In Friday’s incident, a fire broke out in a 10th-floor apartment after the drone struck the building’s roof and exploded, Romania’s emergency response agency said. Two people received medical treatment on site, it said, and 70 people had evacuated.
State news agency Agerpres cited Galati’s emergency response agency as saying a woman and her child had been taken to hospital with minor injuries.
2nd drone reported
Deputy Interior Minister Raed Arafat, who is in charge of the emergency response agency, told private broadcaster Digi24 the drone affected two building stairwells and damaged five cars.
In a separate incident, a drone without an explosive charge was found around Basesti in Maramures county in northwestern Romania and the area was secured, state TVR broadcaster said late on Thursday, citing local authorities.
The authorities were investigating the origin of the drone, which the report said had a wingspan of about three metres, and how it happened to be in the area, TVR added.
Galati was last hit in April, when a drone damaged an electricity pole and a household annex, prompting evacuations. Officials retrieved that drone to detonate its unexploded payload remotely.