Moldova to bolster drone and missile detection
Moldova will strengthen its ability to detect drones and missiles, Prime Minister Dorin Recean said on Wednesday, following a government meeting.
The country's current radar system can only detect objects flying above 2,000 metres, Recean said. To protect against lower-flying drones and missiles, Moldova would need to invest billions of euros in new radar systems.
"We need to expand our detection capabilities with radar, and then we can move on to the next stage of our air defence system," Recean said. "To achieve full coverage against different types of missiles and drones flying at different altitudes, we need an investment of several billion euros. We cannot do this with our own resources. Therefore, we need to cooperate and act together with our friends."
The announcement comes after fragments of a Shahed drone were found near the village of Etulia in the Vulcănești district on Sunday, following a Russian military attack on Ukraine.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there have been at least four other cases of missile debris falling on Moldovan territory, mainly in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Russian missiles have also flown over Moldovan airspace without authorization.
Recean strongly condemned the recent "unjustified" Russian attacks on Ukraine, which have again affected Moldova.
"The war in Ukraine is once again hitting close to home for Moldova," President Maia Sandu said after the discovery of the drone debris in the south of the country.
Moldova is a small country located between Romania and Ukraine. It is a former Soviet republic and has a population of about 3.5 million people. Moldova is not a member of NATO or the European Union, but it has a cooperation agreement with the EU.
The country has been affected by the war in Ukraine in a number of ways. Thousands of Ukrainian refugees have crossed into Moldova, and the country's economy has been hit hard by the war.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
