AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.When a drone crashed into an apartment building in eastern Romania, residents were reminded that the Russia-Ukraine war makes for a dangerous neighbor.Listen · 5:31 min A temporary cover for a hole in the roof of a building in Galati, Romania, on Saturday, after a Russian drone slammed into a residential block on Friday.Credit...Andreea Campeanu for The New York TimesBy Andreea Campeanu and Andrew HigginsAndreea Campeanu reported from Galati, Romania, and Andrew Higgins reported from Warsaw.May 30, 2026Updated 10:56 a.m. ETFor Romanians living near the border with Ukraine, noisy phone alerts warning of “falling objects from the surrounding airspace” and other possible dangers had become so frequent and seemingly needless that many often set their phones to silent mode before going to bed.Andra Lupsa, 38, had done so on Thursday night but she was still woken up: her husband’s phone, left on, started screaming shortly after 1 a.m. “I said to myself: ‘just another alert,’” she recalled, “I put my head back on the pillow.”Moments later, she heard a loud bang as a Russian drone slammed into a nearby apartment building in the city of Galati, one of the largest urban centers in eastern Romania.“You tell yourself it’s just another alert — that something like this can’t happen to us here,” Ms. Lupsa said on Saturday.ImageThe damage to the roof, seen from inside the building that was struck.Credit...Andreea Campeanu for The New York TimesImageWindows were shattered by the impact, and the building was evacuated.Credit...Andreea Campeanu for The New York TimesLike her neighbors, along with the Romanian government and officials at NATO, which Romania belongs to, Ms. Lupsa was struggling to understand how an annoying routine had suddenly become a potentially deadly threat.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT