NewsTracker Answers for week of June 01, 2026

Q: After Romania said last week that two residents were injured when an explosive Russian drone struck an apartment building, leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) vowed to protect “every inch” of the military alliance’s territory. Where is Romania on the western coast of the Black Sea?

Circle the area on this map

Q: The unmanned aerial vehicle started a fire in the river port city of Galati after going astray from a Russian attack on nearby Ukraine. Which river forms the border between Romania and Ukraine?

A. Danube

B. Elbe

C. Rhone

D. Volga

A. The 1,770-mile-long Danube is Europe’s second-longest river after the Volga in Russia. It flows from Germany’s Black Forest to the Black Sea through Romania’s Danube Delta at the border with Ukraine. Galati is on the Danube in Romania, not far from the borders of both Ukraine and Moldova.

Q: Romania is one of 11 NATO nations that once participated in a Cold War military alliance with the Russian-dominated Soviet Union. Which former member of the Warsaw Pact was the last to join NATO?

A. Albania

B. Bulgaria

C. Hungary

D. Poland

A. Albania joined NATO in 2009, five years after Bulgaria and its neighbor, Romania, joined the alliance. Hungary and Poland joined in March 1999, a little more than seven years after the Soviet Union collapsed in December 1991.

Q: Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Soviet collapse a great “catastrophe” and “tragedy” years before he ordered the invasion of Ukraine, a former Soviet republic. Which member of NATO was also part of the Soviet Union?

A. Estonia

B. Latvia

C. Lithuania

D. All of the above

D. The three small nations on the Baltic Sea were the first to declare independence from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1990. Another 12 Soviet republics became independent nations before the remainder of the Soviet Union became the Russian Federation in 1991.

Q: Hundreds of drones from the Russia-Ukraine war have crossed or crashed into NATO territory, but last week’s strike was the first to injure civilians in Romania. Which is the first country known to use an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in warfare?

A. Austria

B. Britain

C. Germany

D. United States

A. In 1848, Austrian forces sent up 200 balloons to drop bombs on Venice, Italy. At least one bomb hit the city, but most balloons went completely off-course. Militaries continued to develop and use UAVs, including as “drone” targets. Relatively inexpensive UAVs have radically changed warfare, notably in the Russia-Ukraine and US-Iran conflicts.