Russia's war in Ukraine destabilizes Black Sea, Romanian army chief says
Russia is actively and constantly jamming GPS communications of ships in Romanian territorial waters, posing a risk of collisions, and Romania and NATO must prepare for a long-term confrontation with the Russian regime, said Romanian Chief of Staff of the Army, General Daniel Petrescu, on Thursday, digi24/ro reported.
"War has returned to Europe. It is a war chosen by Russia, which for Ukraine is a war of national survival and a fight for Western values. We do not see the end of this war now and, while we admire the resilience of Ukrainian society in the face of Russian attacks, we must also prepare for a long-term confrontation with the Russian regime," General Petrescu said in a statement, delivered in English, at the Euro-Atlantic Resilience Forum, organized in Bucharest by the Euro-Atlantic Resilience Center.
"We feel this confrontation very well, especially on NATO's Eastern Flank and especially in the region from which I come, the Black Sea. The war of the Russian Federation in Ukraine has fundamentally destabilized the Black Sea region, and has caused feelings of insecurity among the riparian countries, with repercussions for the security environment," said Daniel Petrescu, in a live intervention from Washington.
The Romanian army chief thus specified that "the Black Sea has become a Russian military operating zone." "From here, missiles are launched at Ukraine, against its civilian or military infrastructure. The region has become the scene of increasingly frequent military actions, with maritime incidents and actions that restrict the free movement of ships. Even last night (Wednesday night to Thursday, ed.), air raid sirens sounded in Ukrainian cities, near the border with Romania, announcing imminent attacks. But such things do not only happen in Ukraine: warning messages, warning of the possibility of objects falling from the air, are frequently sent to Romanian citizens who live in the Delta, near Ukrainian ports that are constantly under Russian attack," Petrescu said.
These attacks have become "the new normal," and "the war in Ukraine will continue to generate regional instability and risks to the security of Romania and the region," General Petrescu said.
"There is a constant risk, associated with the increasing probability of incidents at the NATO border, caused by the possibility that certain drones or missiles could malfunction. Romania's infrastructure or commercial ships in Romanian territorial waters could be hit by mistake," Daniel Petrescu said.
The active and constant actions of Russian jamming affect GPS communications, which poses a risk of collisions between ships in Romanian territorial waters or those that enter areas subject to navigation restrictions by Russia. Another danger highlighted by the Romanian army chief is that of drifting naval mines in the Black Sea.
The four-star general of the Romanian army argued that Romania will need, in this context, to have an approach that will lead to "increasing the resilience" of Romanian society in the face of new threats, through support for the population "towards NATO and the United States, in particular", the presence of NATO troops in Romania, the defense budget, the implementation of national defense programs, and interoperability with the US Army of weapons systems such as Himars, Patriot, F-16 or Piranha vehicles.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
