Russian drone hits Romanian apartments, injuring two, as NATO meets

A Russian Geran-2 drone struck a 10-storey apartment building in the eastern Romanian city of Galati on 29 May, wounding two civilians and prompting NATO to open Article 4 consultations. It marks the first time Russian ordnance has caused casualties on the soil of a NATO member state since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The drone was part of a wave of 43 launched from Russian-controlled territory toward targets across the Danube, Romanian President Nicușor Dan told the BBC. Ukrainian air defences hit one of the craft above the town of Reni, altering its trajectory westward. It crossed the border, struck the apartment block at the tenth-floor level and detonated. The fire that followed forced the evacuation of 70 residents.

Two people were taken to Galati County Emergency Clinical Hospital with abrasions. No deaths were reported.

President Dan convened Romania’s Supreme Council of National Defence in an emergency session and ordered the expulsion of a Russian consul. “There was a group of 43 drones coming from the east. Some were shot down over Ukraine, and one was hit above the city of Reni, which altered its trajectory,” Dan said.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance was “ready to defend every inch of allied territory” and confirmed Romania had invoked Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, the consultation mechanism available when a member state believes its territorial integrity or security is threatened. “We will continue to enhance our readiness to deter and defend against any threat, including from drones. Russia’s reckless behaviour is a danger to us all,” Rutte said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Russia’s “war of aggression has crossed yet another line.” The Czech president, Petr Pavel, urged the alliance to “show its teeth,” the Guardian reported.

The strike cast a harsh light on gaps in Romania’s air defences. Brigadier General Gheorghe Maxim of the Romanian defence ministry said the military had roughly four minutes between detecting the drone and impact — not enough to intercept it before it crossed the border. “Ukraine is at war, but Romania is at peace. We cannot launch a projectile into Ukrainian airspace,” Maxim told the BBC. Romania has asked NATO allies to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone systems.

Moscow warns Europe

In Moscow, the Kremlin seized on the incident to sharpen its warnings to Europe. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, warned European Union citizens on social media that “the peaceful sleep is over”, adding that Europe had “unilaterally entered into a war with Russia.”

President Vladimir Putin questioned whether the drone was Russian at all, suggesting the wreckage be handed over to Moscow for investigation, according to the New York Times. Neither statement acknowledged the 47 separate occasions on which Romanian authorities have recovered drone fragments on their territory since 2022 — 12 of them in 2026 alone, the BBC reported.

All previous debris incidents involved fragments falling in unpopulated areas near the Danube ports that Russia has targeted repeatedly in its campaign against Ukrainian grain export infrastructure. None had caused injuries.

What happens next

NATO foreign ministers are expected to discuss the Galati strike at their next scheduled meeting. Romania’s foreign ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador in Bucharest. The incident complicates the alliance’s posture along its eastern flank as Western military resources are already strained across other theatres.