President Nikos Christodoulides on Friday condemned as “reckless” the collision of a Russian drone into a block of flats in the Romanian city of Galati, adding that the presence of the drone in Romanian airspace constituted “a flagrant violation of Romania’s sovereignty”.

“The drone crash [into] a residential building in Galati is a serious and reckless escalation, a flagrant violation of Romania’s sovereignty, and a stark reminder that Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to threaten European security,” he wrote in a post on social media.

He added that as such, “European coordination and solidarity in responding to evolving security challenges is crucial”, and that “Cyprus stands in full solidarity with Romania and the families of the injured”.

Romania’s defence ministry had confirmed on Friday morning that a drone had “entered Romanian airspace, being tracked by radar to the southern area of the city of Galati”, and “crashed into the roof of a block of flats”, with the block of flats then catching fire.

It also said that the drone had strayed into Romanian airspace amid “drone attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine in the vicinity of the river border with Romania”.

Galati is located in Romania’s east, a short distance from the country’s tripoint border with Moldova and Ukraine on the river Danube.

Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu confirmed that two people had “sustained minor injuries” as a result of the incident, while “several residents required medical attention”.

A fire burns on the roof of a 10-story block of flats after a drone crashed into the building, causing an explosion and injuring two people, near the border with Ukraine

“This incident represents a serious and irresponsible escalation by the Russian Federation. Romania will take the necessary diplomatic response measures regarding this serious violation of international law and of its airspace,” she said.

She added that her country “has informed [European Union] member states, the allies, and the Nato secretary-general [Mark Rutte] of the circumstances, and has requested measures to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to Romania”.

“The Russian Federation bears direct responsibility for these grave and irresponsible actions. Romania will act with the utmost determination to increase international pressure on the Russian Federation with a view to achieving an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire,” she said.

Rutte, meanwhile, confirmed that he had spoken to Romanian President Nicusor Dan, and “assured him of Nato’s absolute solidarity with Romania”.

“I affirmed that Nato stands ready to defend every inch of allied territory. We will continue to enhance our readiness to deter and defend against any threat, including from drones,” he said.

He added that “Russia’s reckless behaviour is a danger to us all”, and that the incident in Galati “showed yet again that the implications of their illegal war of aggression do not stop at the border”.

“Russia’s war needs to end, as does Russia’s disregard for civilian safety,” he said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said of the incident that “Russia’s war of aggression has crossed yet another line”.

Russia itself, however, denied the accusations levelled at it, according to the country’s Ria Novosti news agency.

“All the accusations that we hear, in particular about drones somewhere in the countries of the European Union, they are all unsubstantiated. Not a single fact, material, piece of evidence has been presented,” the country’s foreign ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted as having said.