A Russian drone crashing into a Romanian block of flats overnight has intensified fears inside Nato that Moscow's war in Ukraine is increasingly spilling across the alliance's eastern border.
The drone tore into the roof of a residential tower in the city of Galati during a fresh wave of Russian attacks close to Romania's frontier with Ukraine, injuring two people and forcing dozens from their homes.
Romanian authorities confirmed the aircraft entered the country's airspace before slamming into the apartment block shortly after 1am local time on Friday, triggering a fire and a major emergency response.
A woman suffered first-degree burns while a 14-year-old boy was treated after suffering a panic attack during the impact and evacuation. Both were later taken to hospital for further care.
The incident immediately triggered a military response from Bucharest, with Nato-member Romania scrambling fighter jets and deploying air assets after radar systems tracked the drone's route into its territory.
Romania's Ministry of Defence said the latest incident unfolded during a renewed Russian assault on targets in neighbouring Ukraine near the Danube river corridor.
The ministry said: "During the night of May 28 to 29, the Russian Federation resumed drone attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine, in the vicinity of the river border with Romania.
"One of these drones entered Romanian airspace, being tracked by radar to the southern area of the city of Galati, and crashed onto the roof of a block of flats, the impact being followed by a fire.
"Two F-16 aircraft in the Air Police combat service took off at 1.19am. from Air Base 86 in Fetești, supported by an IAR 330 SOCAT helicopter of the Romanian Air Force.
"Pilots had authorisation to engage targets throughout the alert."
Source: Daily Express :: World Feed
