The Romanian government on Friday denied that a missile fired by Russia against Ukraine from the Black Sea had crossed its airspace, following Ukraine’s complaint in this regard and after Moldova confirmed that the projectile did fly over the country’s skies before re-entering Ukrainian territory.
«The air surveillance system of the Romanian Air Force has detected this Friday an airborne target launched from the Black Sea from a Russian ship, near the Crimean peninsula and probably a cruise missile, which entered Ukrainian airspace, Moldova and re-entered Ukrainian airspace without at any time entering Romanian airspace,» the Romanian Defense Ministry said.
It specified in a statement published on its website that «the closest point of the target’s trajectory to Romanian airspace detected by radar systems is 35 kilometers northeast of the border», before stressing that the authorities «applied all standard procedures from the moment the shot was detected until the situation was fully clarified».
The ministry has further stressed that two Air Force MiG-21s under NATO command that were conducting a test flight at the time were «redirected» to the area to «reinforce reaction options.» «About two minutes after the situation became clear, the two aircraft resumed their original mission,» it has pointed out, while stressing that «the Romanian Air Force constantly monitors the national space and the surrounding area, in cooperation with the allied forces.»
Shortly before, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valeri Zaluzhni, had indicated on his Telegram account that two Kalibr missiles crossed the territory of Moldova and, subsequently, Romania, before entering Ukraine. He stressed that the projectiles were allegedly fired from the Black Sea.
For its part, the Moldovan Ministry of Defense has confirmed in a statement the intrusion of at least one missile into Moldovan airspace, at times that coincide with the data initially provided by Zaluzhni. The government has condemned what it considers a violation of its sovereignty and stressed that it is closely monitoring the situation.
The Moldovan Foreign Ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador in Chisinau to personally convey its displeasure and to demand once again that Moscow put an end to the military offensive launched over Ukraine, which has already resulted on other occasions in shells falling on Moldovan soil or in power cuts.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
