A Russian drone struck a residential apartment building in the Romanian city of Galați early on Friday, detonating its full explosive payload, injuring two people, and triggering a fire that forced around 70 residents to evacuate. The drone, which had a wingspan of approximately three metres, hit the tenth floor of the building before emergency services arrived to extinguish the blaze. The two injured residents suffered cuts and abrasions and were taken to a nearby hospital; no fatalities were reported. Residents remained evacuated while structural engineers inspected the building.
Galați is a city in eastern Romania on the Danube River, close to the borders with both Ukraine and Moldova. The Danube forms a natural boundary with Ukraine in this region, and Ukrainian ports along the river — including Izmail in the Odesa region, which was also attacked by drones overnight — are frequent targets of Russian strikes. Romania's defence ministry said the drone had entered Romanian airspace and was tracked by radar before crashing onto the building's roof. Two F-16 fighter jets scrambled from the Fetești military base at around 1:19 a.m. local time, with pilots authorised to engage targets, and an air force helicopter supported the operation. A specialised explosives investigation team was also deployed to the scene.
Romanian authorities were quick to condemn the incident in strong terms. The foreign ministry called it a "grave and irresponsible escalation" by Russia and described it as a serious breach of international law, adding that Bucharest had informed NATO Secretary General and European allies and formally requested the accelerated transfer of anti-drone capabilities to the country. NATO condemned what it called "Russia's recklessness" and pledged to continue strengthening defences against drone threats. It is the first time Romanian citizens have been injured by a Russian drone since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, though the defence ministry noted that drone fragments have been found on Romanian territory on 47 separate occasions since the war started — 12 of them this year alone.
The incident underscores the widening geographic footprint of the conflict. The UN Secretary General António Guterres warned earlier this week that civilian casualties in the Russia-Ukraine war in the first four months of 2025 already exceed those of the same period in any of the past three years, calling for immediate de-escalation and an unconditional ceasefire. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pressing the United States for additional Patriot air defence missiles to counter Russian ballistic missile attacks, as Russia continues to target Ukraine's energy infrastructure and cities with drones and long-range weapons.