Russian drone crashes into Romanian apartments, wounding two people and starting fire

A Russian drone involved in an overnight attack on Ukraine crashed into an apartment building in Galati, eastern Romania, injuring two people. Romanian authorities said the drone was tracked by radar in Romanian airspace before it hit the roof of the building and caused a fire. Two people suffered cuts requiring medical treatment, and several residents were evacuated. Police and other agencies responded at the scene. Romania’s defence and foreign ministries condemned the incident as an irresponsible escalation and a serious breach of international law and airspace. Romania scrambled F-16 jets and a helicopter authorized to engage targets and sent alerts to residents. Romania said it would take diplomatic measures and asked NATO to accelerate anti-drone capability transfers, while NATO condemned Russia’s recklessness.

"A Russian drone that was part of an overnight attack on Ukraine crashed into an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people, authorities said, in what an official statement condemned as an irresponsible escalation by Moscow. The drone was tracked by radar in Romanian airspace and crashed on to the roof of a building in Galati on Friday, said Romania's defence ministry. The impact was followed by a fire."

"Two people sustained cuts that required medical treatment, and several people were evacuated. Police and other agencies responded at the scene. Galati is on the Danube River, east of the borders with Moldova and Ukraine. The Romanian military scrambled two F-16 fighter jets and a helicopter that were authorised to engage targets, and alert messages were sent to residents of the affected areas."

"Romania's foreign ministry described the drone incident as a grave and irresponsible escalation from Russia. It said the country would take the necessary diplomatic measures to respond to what it described as a serious breach of international law and its airspace. It said also it had asked Nato to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to Romania."

"A Nato spokesperson condemned Russia's recklessness and said the alliance would strengthen its defences against all threats, including drones. The UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, on Thursday told the UN security council that more civilians had been killed in the Russia-Ukraine war in the first four months of this year than in the same period of the past three years. Guterres called for more diplomacy, immediate de-escalation and a full and unconditional ceasefire."

Read at www.theguardian.com