Russian Drone Injures Two in Galati, Romania — Russia Attacks Romania
A Russian drone hit an apartment building in Galati, Romania, early on Friday, causing a fire on the 10th floor and injuring two people. The strike came during a Russian attack near the border, and Romania scrambled two F-16 fighter jets after drones were detected in Romanian airspace. russia attacks romania
Galati apartment block
The Romanian General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations said the drone's entire explosive payload detonated, and around 70 people were evacuated as firefighters put out the blaze. Two people received medical treatment after suffering abrasions, and the drone crashed onto the roof of the residential building in the eastern city of Galati.
“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,” the Romanian defence ministry said.
Romania and the border war
Romania said the incident was the first time citizens in the country had been hurt by a straying Russian drone during the four-year war with Ukraine. In April, another Russian drone caused material damage in Galati but no injuries, and the defence ministry said drone fragments have been found on Romanian territory on 47 separate occasions since the start of the war, including 12 this year.
That history leaves Galati in a narrow zone of recurring spillover from the war next door. Romania is a Nato member country, and the latest strike again reached a residential building rather than stopping at the border.
Izmail and Donetsk
Early on Friday, Ukraine's south said the port of Izmail in the Odesa region came under drone attack. On Thursday, Denis Pushilin, the Kremlin-installed head of Ukraine's Donetsk region, said three utility workers were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in a Russian-controlled part of eastern Donetsk, and a fourth man was seriously injured.
Those incidents kept the fighting active on both sides of the border on the same stretch of days. For Galati residents, the immediate issue is the damage already done to a home and the two people who needed treatment after the blast.
