A Russian drone falls on a building in Romania: Europe accuses Moscow of “crossing a red line”

Russian drone fired into Ukraine crashed into apartment building in Galati, injuring two people. This incident constituted the most serious incursion into NATO territory since the start of the war. The two people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

The drone, tracked by radar after crossing into NATO airspacehit the roof of the building in Galati, a port city in eastern Romania, on the banks of the Danube. The impact caused a fire, forcing residents to evacuate.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan described the incident as “the most serious” that has affected Romanian territory since the war between Russia and Ukraine began in 2022.

Romania immediately summoned the Russian ambassador to the foreign ministry. The United Kingdom and France also condemned the incident and recalled the Russian diplomat to their capitals.

For Benjamin Haddad, French minister in charge of Europe: “The incident involving a Russian drone in Romania testifies to the Russian threat to European security.”

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, stated that “Russia’s war of aggression has crossed a red line“. NATO condemned Russia’s recklessness.

One by one, European countries condemned the incident and considered it unacceptable. Kaja Kallas, head of EU diplomacy, declared: “It has been a long time since Russia does not respect borders. Moscow cannot be authorized to violate European airspace with all impunity.” He considered it “a flagrant violation of Romanian sovereignty and European airspace.”

The Romanian military deployed two F-16 fighters and a helicopter to monitor other hostile unmanned aerial vehicles. Alerts were sent to residents in affected areas.

The Romanian Ministry of Defense stated that the fighters were deployed after the detection of the drone. However, Brigadier General Gheorghe Maxim stated that the army only had four minutes between detection and impact, insufficient time to intercept it.

He added that Romanian forces were limited as they could not fire into Ukrainian airspace to destroy the drone before it crossed the border. “Ukraine is at war, but Romania is at peace. We cannot launch a projectile into Ukrainian airspace“declared the general.

NATO member Romania called the attack a “serious escalation.”

Nicușor Dan, the country’s president, called an emergency meeting of the National Security Council in order to discuss the response. He stated that “would order proportional measures.”

“Romania is a NATO member state and will not accept, under any circumstances, that the war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine be transferred to its citizens,” Dan declared.

NATO did not indicate whether the attack could trigger Article 5, the clause that binds member states to collective defense of the alliance, but yes Article 4, which calls for consultation with the Member States.

Article 4 of the treaty has established, since 1949, that: “The allies shall consult whenever, in the judgment of one of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of one of the parties is threatened.”

Romania demanded the immediate transfer of means to combat drones over its territory to NATO.

Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, expressed his “absolute solidarity with Romania.” He stated that the Alliance was ready to defend “every inch of its territory” and posted in X: “Russia’s reckless behavior It is a danger to all of us. “Last night demonstrated once again that the consequences of their illegal war of aggression do not stop at the border.”

“We will continue to strengthen our deterrence and defense in our territory and we will continue to support Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression,” he assured.

It’s not the first time that Russian drones cross the Romanian border during the war. Similar incursions have been recorded on multiple occasions since 2022. However, It is the first time that a residential building has been hit and Romanian civilians have been injured.

The Romanian Ministry of Defense reported that they have found drone fragments in Romanian territory on 47 occasions since the start of the war, 12 of them this year.

The Galati area has become a recurring target of Russian drone activity. Another drone caused damage in the city in April.

The Russian Defense Ministry had no immediate comment.

In a statement, the Romanian Ministry of Defense stated:

“During the night of May 28-29, the Russian Federation resumed drone attacks against civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine, near the river border with Romania. One of these drones entered Romanian airspace, was tracked by radar to the southern area of ​​the city of Galati and crashed against the roof of an apartment building, causing a fire. This incident represents a serious and irresponsible escalation by the Russian Federation“.

He described the incident as a serious violation of international law: “Such incidents endanger not only the security of Romanian citizens, but also the collective security of NATO.”

NATO spokesperson Allison Hart stated: “The NATO Secretary General is in contact with the Romanian authorities. We condemn Russia’s recklessness and NATO will continue to strengthen its defenses against all threats, including drones.”

In the midst of this tension, Russia called for the evacuation of foreign diplomats, members of NGOs and foreign journalists from kyiv, because will attack again with an Orechnik missile, given the difficulties faced by Vladimir Putin on the front.

European embassies refused to evacuate, as did journalists.