Business Forum • 29 May, 2026 at 7:00 AM
A Russian Geran-2 combat drone breached Romanian airspace and crashed into a residential apartment block in the eastern city of Galați early on 29 May, intensifying security concerns along NATO's eastern flank.
The incident occurred during a wave of overnight Russian strikes targeting civilian and logistics infrastructure in neighbouring Ukraine, near the Danube River border.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) exploded upon impact, sparking a severe fire on the building's roof. Two Romanian citizens sustained injuries and were transferred to the Galați County Emergency Clinical Hospital. Specialised forensic and security teams from the Ministry of National Defence (MApN), the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Romanian Intelligence Service remain on-site to conduct an active investigation.
MApN radar systems tracked the drone as it approached the southern sector of Galați. Two F-16 fighter jets deployed from the 86th Air Base in Fetești at 01:19, supported by an IAR 330 SOCAT combat helicopter, with pilots fully authorised to engage aerial targets. Concurrently, emergency RO-Alert broadcasts were triggered across the Tulcea, Galați, and Brăila regions to warn local populations.
The Ministry of National Defence said: "The Ministry of National Defence strongly condemns the irresponsible actions of the Russian Federation. These acts represent a fresh challenge to regional security and stability in the Black Sea region, demonstrating a flagrant disregard for international legal norms."
The ministry further emphasised that such cross-border military incidents directly jeopardise the safety of Romanian citizens and compromise the collective security infrastructure of the NATO alliance.