It was two o’clock in the morning when the explosion hit — a Russian drone smashing into the tenth floor of an apartment block in the Romanian town of Galati, just 11 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.

Romania scrambled two F-16 fighter jets and a military helicopter, while emergency alerts were sent to residents across the affected region. Two people were injured and the apartment building was swiftly evacuated.

The incident has sparked condemnation across NATO capitals and raised fresh concerns about the growing risks along the alliance’s eastern flank.