NATO is “ready to defend every inch” of allied territory, its chief Mark Rutte said after a drone struck an apartment building in Romania during an overnight Russian attack on neighbouring Ukraine.
“Russia’s reckless behaviour is a danger to us all,” Mr Rutte wrote in a post on X. “Last night showed yet again that the implications of their illegal war of aggression don’t stop at the border.”
“We will continue to strengthen our deterrence and defence at home and continue our support for Ukraine as they defend against Russia’s aggression,” he added.
Mr Rutte’s remarks followed confirmation from Romania’s defence ministry that two people were wounded when the drone hit a residential block close to the Ukrainian frontier.
The apartment building was struck by a Russian drone overnight
“During the night of May 28-29, the Russian Federation resumed drone attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine, near the river border with Romania,” the Romanian defence ministry said.
“One of these drones entered Romanian airspace, was tracked by radar as far as the southern part of the city of Galati, and crashed onto the roof of an apartment building, with the impact triggering a fire,” it said.
Emergency services said two people suffered abrasions and required medical care, and that firefighters brought the blaze under control.
NATO countries on the front line of the conflict are confronting rising exposure as night-time air barrages intensify, with Latvia’s government collapsing in recent weeks amid scrutiny of its defence readiness after a stray Ukrainian drone crossed into its territory.
Romania has recorded dozens of drone incursions since Russia launched its offensive against Ukraine in 2022, but authorities said this was the first incident in which a drone hit a residential building.
Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled after drones were detected in Romanian airspace, the defence ministry said.
Across the border, Ukraine issued a nationwide air raid alert overnight as it braced for strikes. Local authorities in southern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia said at least two people were wounded in the attack.
Firefighters and police work at the site of the drone attack
Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the incident as a “grave and irresponsible escalation from Russia”.
“Romania has informed allies and NATO’s secretary general about the circumstances and requested measures to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to Romania,” the ministry said.
“This incident represents a serious and irresponsible escalation on the part of the Russian Federation,” the ministry statement said.
Growing threats
The overnight incursion came days after a sweeping wave of Russian strikes on Ukraine last Saturday, one of the most severe bombardments since the war began.
Russia has threatened to intensify attacks in retaliation for a Ukrainian strike that, Moscow says, killed 21 people at a school in occupied Ukrainian territory.
On Monday, Moscow said it had begun a campaign of “systematic” strikes on Kyiv after battering Ukraine over the weekend with hundreds of drones and a hypersonic missile, and urged diplomats and foreign nationals to leave the capital.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pressed the United States to supply more ammunition for Patriot air defence systems to counter Russian ballistic missiles, according to a document reviewed by AFP this week.
NATO members bordering Ukraine or Russia — including Romania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland — have become increasingly vulnerable to drone incursions from both sides of the war.
Latvia, which shares a border with Russia, appointed a new government yesterday, two weeks after the previous administration fell following a dispute over stray Ukrainian drone incursions that highlighted weaknesses in the country’s air defences.
The former Latvian prime minister accused her defence minister of moving too slowly to deploy anti-drone systems after two wayward Ukrainian attack drones entered Latvian airspace, incidents believed to have been caused by Russian jamming that knocked them off course.
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While the drones caused only minimal damage, the episodes fuelled widespread unease in the former Soviet republic, now a member of NATO and the European Union.
Mr Zelensky has offered to send experts to Latvia to help strengthen its air defences.
Diplomatic efforts to end the four-year war have stalled since Washington’s attention was diverted in February by its conflict with Iran.
The EU’s top diplomat yesterday rejected the idea of Europe acting as a “neutral mediator” between Ukraine and Russia, after foreign ministers from the bloc’s 27 countries discussed their conditions for any possible talks with Moscow.
Ukraine has argued that Europe — sidelined until now by Washington — should play a larger role and has suggested appointing a representative for negotiations. But the EU’s foreign policy chief said the bloc could not be a “neutral mediator” given its support for Ukraine.
