Romania is planning the production of drones with Ukraine, to protect the East NATO. Ferm message about the ability to transform this into a fast reality “
Peklo rocket drones (“hell”) with long range, exposed during the teaching of the first batch to the Ukrainian defense forces, in Kiev, on December 6, 2024. Photo: Volodymyr Tarasov / Zuma Press / Profimedia
Romania hopes to start quickly on its territory the production of defensive drones together with Ukraine, intended for both domestic use and allies in the European Union and NATO, said the head of Romanian diplomacy, Oana Țoiu, in an interview with the Reuters Agency, published on Tuesday.
Țoiu said that discussions with Ukraine began before the series of recent weeks of air space in the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Alliance, with drones and planes, incursions in this area attributed to Russia.
“We consider it strategic that the eastern flank is better protected, especially in terms of air defense. So what we do in this direction is to create the necessary partnerships, for example, with Ukraine, to build defensive drones for the future,” said the Romanian Foreign Minister.
“We believe in our ability to transform this into a fast reality,” she added, in the margin of the annual meeting of world leaders at the UN General Assembly, which ended on Monday.
Tensions with Moscow have intensified in recent weeks, Estonia accusing Russia of sending fighter jets in its air space, and NATO planes have shot down drones over Poland.
Romania also announced that its planes were about to break a drone that entered its air space.
Russia has reported that it has never targeted EU or NATO countries and that it does not intend to do so in the future.
“The Wall of the Drones”
The statements of the head of the Romanian diplomacy regarding the common production of drones come in the context in which Ukraine has decided to relax the restrictions on the export of the weapons that he used and perfected on the field of battle against Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski praised these weapons in his speech in front of the UN General Assembly, in an effort to strengthen the support of the Allies and to show that maintaining the relations with Kiev is mutual.
The European Union has supported the idea of creating a “drone wall” on the eastern flank to protect the region.
The “drone wall” can be ready in 12 months
Last week, the European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius said that the European Union can significantly improve in 12 months the detection capabilities of drones, but will take longer to develop a complete terrestrial and maritime network capable of tracking and destroying targets.
“We need to understand that we are lacking capacities for drone detection. Maybe we have a good ability to detect airplanes and rockets, but the drones have their specifics – they fly very low and they are small,” Kudilius and Agerpres said last Wednesday.
The EU is considering lifting a “drone wall” along its eastern border, a project whose emergency has been amplified by the recent intrusion of Russian drones into the Polish airspace.
On September 10, Poland has mobilized its own air defense and NATO systems to break about 20 drones in its airspace, after an airspace of the Russian army on Ukraine.
The increased presence of American troops on the territory of Romania, approved
Țoiu also said in the interview with Reuters that Romania has approved an increased presence of US troops in its territory to support refueling operations in the Middle East, although it refused to provide figures.
Since the return of US President Donald Trump to power, European allies are worried about the potential discounts of about 80,000 American soldiers, as they increase their concerns about Russia's threat.
Romania, which is bordering on Ukraine, hosts American troops and intends to invest over 2.5 billion euros ($ 2.9 billion) under Mihail Kogălniceanu air base, extending its capacity to accommodate 10,000 Romanian and allied soldiers.
Bucharest has decided to allow an increased US presence in NATO military bases on the territory of Romania, said Țoiu, mentioning that air refueling could be necessary “in the event of a necessary reaction in the Middle East”.
The Pentagon has not responded to a comment request regarding Romania's plans for hosting an even larger number of American soldiers, notes Reuters.
Two huge purchases in defense, worth 7 billion euros, prepared by the army. One involves the purchase of 216 battle tanks to be produced in the country
The Russian espionage accuses Kiev of preparing a “challenge” that involves an invasion of Poland, after the episode with drones
