A Russian drone crashed in the early hours of this Friday, around 2:00 AM (one hour less in mainland Spain) against an apartment building in the city of Galati, Romania, near the border with Ukraine, according to the Romanian Ministry of Defense. The impact of the device, which hit the tenth floor of the building and caused a fire, caused minor injuries to two people, a 51-year-old woman and a 14-year-old boy, and forced the evacuation of the residents of the block. Although numerous aerial bomb devices have crossed the border since the large Russian offensive began in February 2022, those of this Friday are the first two injured on Romanian soil.
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“This incident represents a serious and irresponsible escalation by the Russian Federation,” the Ministry of Defense stated in a message posted on Facebook. “Romania will take the necessary diplomatic measures to respond to this serious violation of international law and its airspace,” the note continued, before emphasizing that it has informed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and urged the organization to take measures to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to this Eastern European country.
Romanian authorities have indicated that Russia resumed drone attacks against civilian targets and infrastructure in the neighboring country near the river border with Romania last night, and that one of these aircraft was tracked by radar to Galati, a town of nearly 220,000 inhabitants on the banks of the Danube and near the borders with the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.
This is the second time a drone has struck this city. On April 25, one of them crashed during the early morning into the yard of a house in a suburban neighborhood. The homeowner, who was sleeping at the time, had to be hospitalized after a panic attack. For the first time, Romanian authorities evacuated more than 500 people to move the object to an open area and destroy it.
Both the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs have condemned the incident while labeling Russia as an “aggressor state.” “The Russian Federation remains an aggressor state waging an illegal war with serious implications for regional security and the safety of citizens,” Defense stated. “Romania will act with the utmost firmness to increase international pressure on the Russian Federation in favor of an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire,” it continued.
The President of Romania, Nicusor Dan, convened the Supreme Defense Council (CSAT) this Friday, which brings together all state bodies responsible for the country’s security, to address “the implications of the most serious incident affecting Romanian territory since the beginning of the Russian aggression in Ukraine.” “The unprecedented nature of the event requires a firm, coordinated, and tailored response at both the national and allied and international levels,” Dan said, announcing that he will go to the United Nations Security Council to denounce the facts. “Romania is a NATO member state and will not accept, under any circumstances, that the war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine is transferred to its citizens,” he asserted.
The head of state reported that two F-16 fighters of the Romanian Air Force and an IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter followed the drone but also explained why it was not shot down: “The decision not to attack the target was made because there were no conditions that would allow its destruction without the risk of a serious threat to the safety of the civilian population.” Bucharest has launched a full investigation into the circumstances of the aircraft’s impact and has organized a technical examination to recover fragments in order to precisely identify the type of weapons and trajectory.
The General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations of Romania explained that the drone hit the tenth floor of the residential building and its explosive payload detonated completely, which forced the evacuation of about 70 people. Firefighters who arrived at the scene managed to extinguish the fire. “Residents remain evacuated until technicians complete inspections, including the building’s structure,” said the head of the Department for Emergency Situations (DSU), Raed Arafat, in statements reported by the media.
Since the start of the Russian offensive against Ukraine in 2022, dozens of drone incursions have been detected in Romania, a NATO member country since 2004, but this Friday’s incident was the first in which a drone struck a residential building.
Two F-16 fighter jets were deployed after identifying two aircraft in Romanian airspace. Romania, like other NATO countries, has changed its laws in recent years to be able to shoot down those entering its territory. Still, they have not done so yet.
Attack on the Danube ports
Meanwhile, local authorities in southern Ukraine have reported that the port of Izmail, in the Odessa region, was attacked by several drones at dawn, according to Reuters. Izmail, near the border with Romania, hosts the largest Ukrainian port on the Danube River and is a frequently targeted strategic objective.
The incident in Galati occurs amid calls from NATO’s eastern flank countries to strengthen their defense capacity and following a succession of Ukrainian-origin drones diverted by Russian electronic warfare that have entered the Baltic countries and Finland.
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