Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has said the alliance is “ready to defend every inch” of its territory after a Russian drone struck an apartment building in Romania, a Nato member state, during an overnight attack on neighbouring Ukraine. The incident in Galați injured two people and prompted swift condemnation from Romania and its allies.
Romanian president Nicușor Dan convened an emergency meeting of the country’s supreme council of national defence and summoned Russia’s ambassador. The foreign ministry described the strike as a “grave and irresponsible escalation” and a serious breach of international law, adding that it would ask Nato to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities and consider invoking Article 4 of the Nato treaty.
Russia denied involvement, with President Vladimir Putin suggesting without evidence that the drone might have been a stray Ukrainian weapon. He proposed that the wreckage be handed over to Russia for an independent investigation. However, Romanian officials confirmed the drone was tracked by radar in Romanian airspace before crashing into a residential building, sparking a fire and forcing evacuations.
European leaders condemned the attack. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Russia’s “war of aggression has crossed yet another line”, while France’s foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot called it an “irresponsible act”. Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha warned that the incident proved Russia poses a threat to the whole of Europe.
The Romanian military scrambled two F-16 fighter jets and a helicopter authorised to engage targets, and emergency alerts were issued to residents. The government reiterated its request for Nato to speed up delivery of anti-drone systems. The strike is the latest example of the war in Ukraine spilling beyond its borders, amid growing concern over Russian hybrid warfare across Europe.
