GALATI, Romania (AFP) -- A Russian drone struck an apartment building in North Atlantic Treaty Organization-member Romania early Friday, wounding two people in the latest spillover from the war in Ukraine and prompting strong condemnation from the Atlantic alliance and the European Union (EU). 

Romania summoned the Russian ambassador and President Nicusor Dan convened a national defense council meeting to discuss “the most serious incident to have affected our national territory” since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

The drone smashed into the apartment building in the city of Galati, close to the border with Ukraine, sparking a fire and sending a 14-year-old boy and a 53-year-old woman to hospital with serious injuries, officials said. 

Drone incursions in Romania have been detected dozens of times since the start of the Russian offensive against Ukraine in 2022, but the strike marked the first time a residential building has been hit. 

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Russia’s “war of aggression had crossed yet another line” with the strike. “We stand in full solidarity with Romania and its people,” she said on social media, pledging to increase deterrence on the EU’s Eastern border and “to keep increasing pressure on Russia.”

NATO condemned Moscow’s “recklessness” and vowed “absolute solidarity” with Romania, while France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot slammed what he called “an irresponsible act.”

“Russia’s reckless behavior is a danger to us all,” NATO chief Mark Rutte wrote on social media after a call with the Romanian president.

“I affirmed that NATO stands ready to defend every inch of Allied territory,” Rutte said.

Maia Sandu, the president of Moldova, which lies between Romania and Ukraine and has also seen repeated drone incursions and debris falling on its soil, said Russia was a “danger to all.”

Jets scrambled

“During the night of 28 to 29 May, the Russian Federation resumed drone attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine, near the river border with Romania,” the Romanian defense ministry said.

“One of these drones entered Romanian airspace, was tracked by radar as far as the southern part of the city of Galati, and crashed onto the roof of an apartment building, with the impact triggering a fire,” it said.

Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled after the drones were detected in Romanian airspace, the defense ministry said.