Romanian army chief identifies key threats posed by Russia
Photo: Chief of the General Staff of Defense of Romania Gheorghiță Vlad (flickr.com photos nato)
Romanian military officials are warning of numerous threats posed by Russia, some of which are linked to Russian activity in the Black Sea, stated the Chief of the Romanian Defence General Staff, General Gheorghiță Vlad, according to Digi24.
He noted that since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, Romania has faced many dangers, mainly created by Russia.
According to the commander, Romania regularly experiences GPS signal spoofing, with such attacks being recorded on a weekly basis.
"We are facing issues with electromagnetic interference, and by that I mean spoofing and manipulation of the GPS system. These incidents aren't daily, but we mostly experience problems on a weekly basis," said Gheorghiță Vlad.
Another challenge, he noted, is the appearance of Russian naval mines drifting in the Black Sea.
"I can go on talking about the drifting mines. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, we have detected 122 live mines. I will also continue to speak about threats related to undersea cables and pipelines," the General added.
When asked about the potential withdrawal of US troops from Romania, General Vlad responded: "Yes, we are ready." However, he emphasized that there are currently no concrete signs that this might happen.
"Our border with Ukraine is very long - we have the largest one, 800 kilometers. The danger exists, and we cannot cover it, and no country in the world can cover such an area with the air defense assets it has at its disposal," he said.
Russian drones and missiles in Romania
Neighboring countries of Ukraine are also feeling the impact of Russia’s attacks. During drone raids, Russian UAVs occasionally enter Romanian and Moldovan airspace.
Additionally, Poland regularly scrambles its air force when Russia launches mass missile strikes on Ukraine, especially when there is a threat to western regions.
For instance, on December 25, Russia launched more than 70 missiles and over 100 drones against Ukraine. Ukraine's Air Force reported that one of the Russian missiles crossed into Moldova's airspace during the attack. According to monitoring groups, the missile traveled 140 kilometers through Moldova and Romania.
However, Romanian authorities denied that any Russian missile had flown over their territory
