Romania said on Friday that a drone struck a residential apartment block in the southeastern city of Galati during an overnight Russian attack on neighbouring Ukraine, injuring two people and heightening tensions along NATO’s eastern flank.
Authorities said the drone hit the roof of a 10-storey building, causing an explosion and a fire in a top-floor apartment. Around 70 residents were evacuated following the incident.
Romania’s emergency response agency said two people received medical treatment at the scene, while state news agency Agerpres reported that a woman and her child were taken to hospital with minor injuries. Two additional residents were treated for panic attacks.
A fire burns on the roof of a 10-story block of flats after a drone crashed into the building, causing an explosion and injuring two people, near the border with Ukraine, in Galati, Romania, in this handout image released on May 29, 2026. Romanian Department for Emergency Situations (DSU)/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.
Romanian officials described the incident as the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine that a drone had hit a densely populated area in Romania and caused injuries.
The strike occurred during a broader Russian drone attack targeting Ukraine’s Odesa region, including the strategic Danube River port of Izmail, located near the Romanian border.
Romania’s defense ministry said the country had experienced 28 incidents of Russian drones violating its airspace since Moscow began attacking Ukrainian port infrastructure along the Danube. Authorities have also recovered drone fragments on Romanian territory 47 times.
Foreign Minister Oana Toiu condemned the incident as a “serious violation of international law and its airspace.”
“Romania will take the necessary diplomatic measures in response,” Toiu said on X, adding that Bucharest had informed NATO allies and requested accelerated transfers of anti-drone defense capabilities.
The defense ministry said two F-16 fighter jets and a military helicopter were scrambled overnight to monitor the situation. Pilots were authorized to shoot down drones if lives or property were deemed at risk.
Firefighters work near a building, which, according to a Facebook post by Romanian radio station Pro Lider FM, was hit by a drone, close to the border with Ukraine, in Galati, Romania, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released on May 29, 2026. ISU Galati/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY VERIFICATION: – Business signage, windows and utility poles matched file and satellite images – Corroborating videos show the damaged building at the same location – Date not verified but no older version of the video was found posted online before May 29 – Local authority confirmed in a statement posted on Friday that fire has been put out after a drone crashed into a residential building in Galati TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Residents in the border counties of Braila, Galati and Tulcea received emergency warnings urging them to seek shelter during the attack.
Officials said radar lost contact with the drone as it entered Galati at very low altitude before striking the residential building.
Deputy Interior Minister Raed Arafat said the explosion affected two stairwells in the apartment block and damaged five cars parked nearby.
Romanian law permits the military to shoot down drones during peacetime if they threaten people or property, though authorities have not yet done so during the conflict.
In a separate incident, local authorities in northwestern Romania reported the discovery of another drone near the village of Basesti in Maramures county. According to state broadcaster TVR, the drone did not carry an explosive payload and investigators were examining its origin.
