Romania says Russian drone hit building in its territory

A Russian drone struck an apartment building in NATO-member Romania, its defence ministry said on Friday, wounding two people in a city near the Ukrainian border.

"During the night of May 28-29, the Russian Federation resumed drone attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine, near the river border with Romania," the Romanian defence ministry said.

"One of these drones entered Romanian airspace, was tracked by radar as far as the southern part of the city of Galati, and crashed onto the roof of an apartment building, with the impact triggering a fire," it said.

The emergency services said two people with abrasions required medical treatment and that the fire had been extinguished.

Drone incursions have been detected dozens of times since the start of the Russian offensive against Ukraine in 2022, but the latest incident was the first time one had hit a residential building.

Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled after the drones were detected in Romanian airspace, the defence ministry said.

A nationwide air raid alert had also been issued in neighbouring Ukraine overnight in anticipation of Russian strikes, though it was lifted in the morning.

"Irresponsible escalation"

Romania's foreign ministry accused Russia on Friday of a "serious and irresponsible escalation" after a drone struck an apartment building inside its territory near the border with Ukraine.

"This incident represents a serious and irresponsible escalation on the part of the Russian Federation," the ministry statement said, adding Bucharest had informed the NATO secretary general and "requested measures to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to Romania".