Marcel Ciolacu: "If the Russian drones had a target on Romanian territory, we would act"

If the Russian drones that flew over Romania's airspace on the night of Saturday to Sunday had targets on the territory of our country, they would have been shot down by F-16 planes, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said yesterday, before the government meeting.

Marcel Ciolacu specified: "We picked up the planes, we monitored and if they had a target on Romanian territory we acted. (...) I spoke with the Minister of Defense. There were no particular problems on the ground, the attacks will continue, because grain exports are coming again. That's it, we have a war near the border with Romania".

The statement of the head of the Government comes after Elena Lasconi, president of USR and the party's presidential candidate, criticized him on Sunday for the fact that the current legislation does not allow the Romanian Air Force to shoot down drones that illegally enter the airspace of our country.

In an official post on Facebook, Elena Lasconi said: "In the spring, the head of the Army asked us to amend the legislation to be able to shoot down the drones entering our territory. Mr. Ciolacu, you have 60% of the Parliament, are you doing something? Does General Ciucă have anything to say or will his boss, Klaus Iohannis, not let him?".

We remind you that two Shahed drones sent by the Russian forces to Ukraine entered Romania's airspace on the night of Saturday to Sunday. One of the drones traveled almost 80 kilometers on the territory of our country without being shot down by the Romanian Air Force who monitored it by means of two F-16 planes. On Sunday night, around 2:30-3:00, the Department for Emergency Situations sent an RO-Alert message to the residents of Constanţa and Tulcea counties, through which the population was warned about the possibility of objects falling from the airspace and instructed to take shelter in cellars and civil protection shelters. One of the two drones continued on its way to Ukraine, and the other was shot down by Ukrainian forces near the Romanian town of Periprava, in the Danube Delta.

Following the incident, according to a press release, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked the Russian Federation to comply with the norms of international law regarding the inviolability of the national airspace.

The press release issued by the ministry also states: "The MAE categorically calls for an end to the repeated attacks against the Ukrainian population and civil infrastructure and the irresponsible escalation by the Russian Federation of the security situation, including at the border between Romania and Ukraine. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs demands compliance with international law, including the inviolability of Romania's airspace, and reiterates its strong condemnation of these illegal attacks. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed and is coordinating with the other allies and NATO structures on the developments on the border between Romania and Ukraine, including this incident".

Mircea Geoană, whose mandate as NATO Deputy Secretary General ends today following his resignation last week, said: "Since the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, fragments of Russian drones and missiles have been found on Allied territory by several times. Although there is no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous. In response to the war provoked by Russia, NATO significantly increased its presence on its Eastern Flank, including in Romania through increased vigilance measures. I have total confidence in the Romanian Army, in our military pilots and in the technical capabilities, including the NATO Radar that helps us accurately monitor threats to the national territory. Military and civilian authorities will continue to analyze the actual situation and take action accordingly. I want the Romanians, especially those who received an alert message in the middle of the night, to know that, at the level of the Alliance, we are making every effort to maintain a security climate".

Iulian Fota, former presidential adviser, stated yesterday, in several posts on the official Facebook page: "In the matter of Russian drones, which put our sovereignty in question by illegally entering our airspace, we have only one solution: their destruction in the air. MApN must take them down. Diplomatic protest cannot influence Russian behavior. It's too soft. And the situation is getting worse, even if we still haven't had RO Alert in Bucharest".

Later, the former presidential adviser said: "The defense of a country, including with military means, what we call armed defense, is the number one responsibility of politicians. The decision to go to war or to use armed force is not the Army's business. Nor the downing of a drone, Administration, the Government, the Parliament. The heads of these parties, the heads of parliamentary committees, the parliamentarians from the defense committees, in addition to the representatives of the Executive, must be questioned. The army does not set its tasks by itself, even if the politician has taken pleasure in outsourcing the main responsibilities to the state institutions".

Iulian Fota believes that there is an urgent need to adopt a new legal framework regarding national security activities, including armed defense, an approach that should not be politicized.

Regarding the need to amend the legislation, Iulian Fota offered two examples: "When Croatia organized an important conference last year on the demining of Ukraine, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to participate, because the Ministry of Defense claimed that, not having officially declared war on Ukraine by Russia , demining is not the job of this ministry. If Romania decides tomorrow that it participates in demining Ukraine, it has no one to go with. MApN does demining only during war, and MAi does not have demining capabilities because it does not have this responsibility by law. If someone puts two anti-tank mines in Constitution Square, we will have to declare a terrorist attack so that the SRI can remove them. The army will not move a finger (ed. - because it demines only during wartime, and there is peace in Romania). The drone thing and the demining came to the surface by the nature of the events."

We mention that, as early as June 2023, the Ministry of National Defense stated that, in order to shoot down drones that enter the national territory, it is necessary to amend the legislation in force, so that the Romanian Air Force can act in this sense. More than a year has passed since then and Parliament has not even taken the time to amend that article. During this time, the residents of Tulcea county have been woken up for almost a year, constantly, at certain time intervals, by ISU alerts regarding drones flying in the border area, and recently those in Constanţa county also received such a message because a drone Shahed flew 80 kilometers through Dobrogea.