NATO accused Russia of reckless behaviour and pledged to "defend every inch of allied territory" after Romania said a Russian drone had crashed into an apartment block in the alliance member state during an attack on neighbouring Ukraine.
Romania's defence ministry said a woman and a child suffered minor injuries in Galați near the border with Ukraine overnight after radar tracked a Russian drone entering Romanian airspace.
Photos from the scene showed charred and damaged brickwork on the roof of the 10-storey apartment block which Romanian authorities said was hit by a drone that exploded on impact, tearing through a top-floor flat.
Russia's TASS news agency cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying President Vladimir Putin had been informed about the incident.
It was the first time a densely populated area in a NATO country had been hit causing injuries during Russia's war in Ukraine, and the incident is likely to increase tensions on the alliance's eastern flank as member states worry about the war spilling over their borders.
"Russia's reckless behaviour is a danger to us all," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on social media after speaking by phone to Romanian President Nicușor Dan, whose country is in both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union.
"I affirmed that NATO stands ready to defend every inch of Allied territory," he said, without making any mention of triggering NATO's mutual defence clause.
"We will continue to enhance our readiness to deter and defend against any threat, including from drones," he added."
Mr Dan said the Russian consulate in the southeastern city of Constanța would be closed and the consul expelled.
TASS quoted Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying Russia would respond swiftly to Romania’s decision to close the consulate.
'NATO needs to do something’
Romania, which shares a 650km land border with Ukraine, said Russian drones had breached its airspace 28 times since Russia began attacking Ukrainian ports across the Danube River following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Stephen Evelyn, a 44-year-old American citizen who lives in Galați, called it "another provocation by the Russians".
"I don't believe this was an accident, this has happened too many times for the Russians to be doing this by accident," he said.
Mr Evelyn added: "Either that or they're highly incompetent at waging war, but NATO needs to do something about this."
There have been multiple airspace incursions into NATO airspace since Russia invaded Ukraine, most notably when more than 20 Russian drones entered Poland's airspace on the night of 9-10 September.
In recent weeks Ukrainian drones have strayed into Baltic countries' airspace, sowing confusion and raising tensions with Russia.
Romania has asked NATO allies to deploy additional anti-drone capabilities to Romania, with official sources saying Bucharest needs low-altitude radars and interceptor drones.
A NATO spokesperson said, "potential additional defensive measures are considered".
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Romania scrambled F-16 jets
Local authorities in southern Ukraine said Izmail port in the Odesa region, across the border from Galați, had come under attack from drones.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to support Romania "in whatever way is necessary".
The Romanian defence ministry said two F-16 fighter jets had been scrambled and a military helicopter was sent to monitor the attack, with the pilots authorised to shoot down any drones without endangering inhabited areas.
The residents of border counties Brăila, Galați and Tulcea were warned to take cover.
The drone was in Romania's airspace for four minutes and flew at a low altitude for 10km, making it difficult for radar to detect, Romanian Brigadier General Gheorghe Maxim said.
Read more: Latest Ukraine stories
He told a press conference that although the US anti-drone system Merops is operational in Romania it is not yet fully integrated with national air defences and it would have been too risky to use in a city.
In addition to the woman and her child who were taken to hospital with minor injuries, two people were treated on the scene for panic attacks and 70 were evacuated from the apartment block, local authorities said.
Deputy interior minister Raed Arafat, who is in charge of the emergency response agency, told private broadcaster Digi24 that the drone affected two building stairwells, an elevator shaft and damaged five cars.
A drone also damaged an electricity pole and a household annex in Galați in April.
In a separate incident, a drone without an explosive charge was found in northwestern Romania, state TVR broadcaster said last night, citing local authorities.
