May 29 (UPI) — A Russian drone carrying explosives struck the roof of an apartment building in NATO ally Romania overnight, risking a dangerous escalation in Moscow’s four-year-old war in Ukraine.
The drone had entered Romanian airspace during a Russian attack on neighboring Ukraine and struck the building in the eastern city of Galati, located near the Romania-Ukraine border, Romania’s Defense Ministry said in a statement Friday.
Two people were “slightly injured,” according to Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The two victims were transported to the Galati County Emergency Clinical Hospital, officials said.
The drone sparked a fire on the 10th floor of the building, according to the Department for Emergency Situations, which said online that 70 people were evacuated from the building.
Video of the scene shared by Galati County emergency services officials shows firefighters responding and debris littering the residential street.
“This represents a serious and irresponsible escalation by the Russian Federation,” Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu said online.
According to the Defense Ministry, radars had detected drones flying near Romanian airspace, prompting two F-16 fighter jets and an IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter to deploy at 1:19 a.m., with authorization to engage targets.
The aircraft followed the drone in Romanian airspace, but the decision was made to not engage over heightened risk to the safety of the civilian population, Romanian President Nicusor Dan said in a statement.
Dan said he convened a meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defense for 11 a.m. Friday to discuss what he called “the most serious incident to have affected national territory” since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, igniting the war.
“The unprecedented nature of the event requires a firm, coordinated and commensurate response — at the national, allied and international levels,” he said.
He said he holds the Kremlin wholly responsible.
“What happened today in Galati is the direct consequence of Russia’s war of aggression unleashed against Ukraine, of the irresponsible and indiscriminate manner in which Moscow operates these weapons systems in the immediate vicinity of NATO borders, as well as of its systematic disregard for international law,” he said.
“There is no ambiguity regarding the perpetrator and the cause of this aggression.”
All NATO and European Union allies have been informed of the incident, and the U.N. Security Council has been informed, he said, adding that Romania has formally requested that allies deploy additional anti-drone capabilities to NATO’s eastern flank.
Romania also summoned the Russian ambassador to officially communicate “the effects that this lack of responsibility on the part of the Russian Federation will have on the diplomatic relations between our countries and the next steps at the European level regarding packages of sanctions,” Toiu said.
Numerous heads of state and ministers of foreign affairs condemned the attack, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who said he spoke with Dan and assured him that the alliance “stands ready to defend every inch of allied territory.”
“Russia’s reckless behavior is a danger to us all,” he said in a statement. “They continue to target civilians and civilian infrastructure across Ukraine. And last night showed yet again that the implications of their illegal war of aggression don’t stop at the border.”
Russian drones have repeatedly entered NATO airspace amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, but Friday’s incident appeared to be the most severe involving Romania.