Romania's president warns Russia: Harm our citizens and there will be consequences
President of Romania Nicușor Dan (Photo: Getty Images)
Russia must immediately reconsider the tactics of its shelling of Ukraine in order to stop threatening the lives of residents of neighboring Romania. Official Bucharest is demanding security guarantees for its citizens during attacks on Ukrainian ports, according to an interview of the Romanian leader by the BBC.
According to Nicușor Dan, over the past two years, the Romanian side has recorded dozens of dangerous incidents involving Russian drones. The President of Romania noted that Russian drones are becoming increasingly dangerous. Whereas before they simply violated airspace, now devices with explosive warheads are falling onto the territory of a NATO country.
Instead of standard calls to stop the war, the Romanian leader focused on a specific demand to Moscow. He insists that the aggressor must bear full responsibility for the accuracy of its strikes.
Dan said that the situation was becoming dangerous for Romanian citizens and that when the Russians carried out strikes and chose targets in cities located across the Danube, they had to be sure they were not harming Romanian citizens. He added that the measure of sending a consul was a warning to the Russian side and that he hoped they would stop. He also said that if they did not, there were other measures they could take against them.
Nicușor Dan added that Romania is currently actively cooperating with its NATO partners. The country is urgently purchasing new equipment to protect its airspace. Until these systems are fully deployed, Bucharest is asking allies for temporary assistance in securing the 60-kilometer zone along the Danube.
Context of the Romanian president's statement
As previously reported, on the night of May 29, during another Russian attack on Ukraine, an enemy drone hit the roof of a multi-story building in Galați – a fire broke out on the 10th floor, and two people were injured.
Romania's air defense forces explained that they physically did not have time to intercept the drone. Only four minutes passed from the detection of the target to its impact.
Later, the Ministry of National Defense of Romania determined that the residential building had been attacked by a Russian Geran-2 drone (of the Shahed type).
