A Russian drone crashed into a block of flats in Galati, Romania during a wave of drone attacks near the Ukraine border, injuring two people and forcing around 70 residents to evacuate06:01, 29 May 2026A Russian drone crashing into a Romanian block of flats overnight has heightened fears within Nato that Moscow's war in Ukraine is increasingly spilling across the alliance's eastern frontier.‌The drone smashed into the roof of a residential tower in the city of Galati during a fresh wave of Russian strikes close to Romania's border with Ukraine, injuring two people and forcing dozens from their homes.‌Romanian authorities confirmed the aircraft entered the country's airspace before ploughing into the apartment block shortly after 1am local time on Friday, sparking a fire and a major emergency response.‌A woman sustained first-degree burns while a 14 year old boy received treatment after suffering a panic attack during the impact and evacuation. Both were subsequently taken to hospital for further care.The incident immediately prompted a military response from Bucharest, with Nato-member Romania scrambling fighter jets and deploying air assets after radar systems tracked the drone's path into its territory, reports the Express.‌Romania's Ministry of Defence said the latest incident occurred 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 Feteti, supported by an IAR 330 SOCAT helicopter of the Romanian Air Force."Pilots had authorisation to engage targets throughout the alert."The deployment underscores how seriously Nato member states are now taking airborne incursions near the alliance's eastern border, particularly as Russia continues extensive drone and missile strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure close to neighbouring countries.‌Why is Galati strategically important for Nato?‌Galati is located in eastern Romania near both Ukraine and Moldova, close to one of the war's most fiercely contested logistical corridors, reports GB News.The area lies near the Danube river routes which have become vital for Ukrainian grain exports and military supply lines following repeated Russian assaults on Black Sea infrastructure.Romania, which shares a frontier of more than 380 miles with Ukraine, has repeatedly faced security concerns related to falling debris, suspected drone incursions and airspace violations since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.‌Fragments of Russian drones have previously been found on Romanian soil following attacks on Ukrainian ports across the Danube. However, this latest incident represents one of the most serious reported cases involving a direct strike on a residential building within Romania itself.The alliance has considerably bolstered air policing missions across Eastern Europe since the invasion began, deploying additional fighter jets, surveillance systems and rapid response capabilities to member states bordering Ukraine and Russia.What happened inside the apartment block?‌Romanian emergency services were on the scene within minutes after residents received Ro-Alert emergency warnings in the early hours of Thursday morning.‌Roughly 70 people were evacuated from the building as firefighters tackled the blaze caused by the impact.Police officers, ambulance crews and teams from Romania's SMURD emergency response service secured the area while explosives experts and forensic investigators combed through the wreckage.Officials from the Criminal Investigation Department and the National Institute of Forensic Science were also called in to establish whether any unexploded material remained within the building.According to local newspaper Viata Libera, specialists concluded the drone's entire explosive payload detonated on impact, easing fears of a secondary explosion. Galati police confirmed the incident in a statement to Romanian media.Article continues belowThe statement said: "A short time ago, in the municipality of Galati, a drone crashed into a block of flats, the impact being followed by an explosion and the outbreak of a fire in an apartment located on the 10th floor."Forces and police are intervening on the scene to limit the effects of the incident and secure the area, supported by other MIA forces and specialised SRI teams. Two people who were in the burnt apartment self-evacuated."