A Russian drone crashed into an apartment building in eastern Romania during an overnight attack aimed at Ukraine, injuring two people and triggering a fire that led to evacuations. Romania’s foreign ministry condemned the incident as a serious violation of international law and urged NATO to accelerate anti-drone capability transfers. Romanian authorities tracked the drone by radar in their airspace before it crashed in Galati, and scrambled two F-16 fighter jets and a helicopter while issuing emergency alerts. The incident adds to repeated incursions along NATO’s eastern flank, with Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Finland reporting similar events. Romania summoned the Russian ambassador and signaled consequences for diplomatic relations and further European sanctions, while Romania moved to secure anti-drone defenses under an EU program.
"The foreign ministry in Bucharest on Friday labelled the crash of the drone, part of an overnight attack aimed at Ukraine, a serious violation of international law and called on NATO to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities. The incident is just the latest incursion along the alliance's eastern flank, raising concern that the risk of an open confrontation between Russia and NATO states is rising."
"Romania said the overnight drone was tracked by radar in its airspace before crashing onto the roof of a residential building in the city of Galati. Two F-16 fighter jets and a helicopter were scrambled, as authorities issued emergency alerts to residents. Two people suffered minor injuries and several residents were evacuated after a fire was triggered by the crash."
"The incident is just the latest of several, as the war in Ukraine has spilled over into neighbouring NATO countries, raising fears of potential escalation. Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, as well as Finland have all reported repeated incursions into their airspace in recent months. Drone incursions sparked a government collapse in Latvia earlier this month."
"Shortly after the crash, Bucharest called for NATO to speed up the transfer of anti-drone capabilities. Outgoing Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan also said that Romania would, within hours, sign a contract which will give it anti-drone defences under the EU'S SAFE programme. On Friday morning, Romania summoned the Russia ambassador."
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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