A Russian Geran-2 drone, also known as a Shahed 136, struck a residential apartment building in the eastern Romanian city of Galati on Friday, detonating its full explosive payload and igniting a fire on the 10th floor. Two residents sustained abrasions and were transported to the Galati County Emergency Clinical Hospital, while approximately 70 people were evacuated from the building as emergency crews extinguished the blaze. Romanian officials said the drone's entire warhead detonated on impact.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan convened an emergency session of the country's Supreme Defence Council, calling the strike "the most serious incident to have affected Romanian territory since the start of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine." Romania's foreign ministry summoned the Russian ambassador and formally requested that NATO accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to the country. France announced it would similarly summon the Russian ambassador in solidarity.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte spoke directly with President Dan following the incident, reaffirming that the alliance "stands ready to defend every inch of Allied territory" and pledging to enhance readiness against drone threats. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that Russia's "war of aggression has crossed yet another line." Russia had not issued a comment on the incident as of the time of reporting.

Romanian defence officials said two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled after the drone was detected, but Brigadier General Gheorghe Maxim noted that forces had only four minutes between detection and impact, leaving little time to respond. Maxim also acknowledged a significant operational constraint: Romanian forces cannot fire munitions into Ukrainian airspace, as Ukraine remains an active war zone. Russian drones have strayed across Romania's border on multiple previous occasions during the nearly four-year war, but this marks the first time Romanian citizens have been injured in such an incident, raising the stakes for NATO's eastern flank posture.