Romanian President Nicusor Dan on Friday convened the Supreme National Defence Council, CSAT, to discuss Romania’s response after two people were injured in the city of Galati during an overnight Russian attack on neighbouring Ukraine.
“We will discuss the implications of the most serious incident affecting national territory since the start of the Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine. We will adopt proportional measures in relation to the Russian Federation,” a presidential press release said.
A drone struck the roof of a 10-storey apartment building and exploded at around 2 a.m. local time. A woman and her child suffered minor injuries while more than 70 residents were evacuated from the area.
The Defence Ministry said the drone had crossed into Romanian airspace from Ukraine, where Russia was carrying out attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets. Two F-16 fighter jets and a military helicopter were scrambled to monitor the situation, while pilots were authorized “to shoot down any targets throughout the alert”.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Romania has recorded 47 incidents involving drones breaching its airspace, but this was by far the most serious. Although Romanian law allows the military to shoot down drones if lives or property are at risk, authorities have so far refrained from doing so.
The latest incident has sparked strong public concern, prompting calls for more effective measures to prevent further incursions by Russian drones. The incident increases tensions on NATO’s eastern flank at a time when Ukraine’s allies remain concerned about the war spilling beyond Ukraine’s borders.