General Gheorghița Vlad, Romania’s new Chief of Defence Staff, has warned that the country’s army is not legally authorized to prepare the population for an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine or to respond appropriately to existing military threats. He firmly believes that if left unchecked in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin will also set his sights on Moldova.
Europa Liberă: You have been in charge of Romania’s army for about a month and since then, countless political leaders, such as the new Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, or military commanders, such as your British counterpart, have been warning that the civilian population should prepare both psychologically and practically for a possible or eventual conflict with Russia. From Romania, no one has said whether we should prepare. Please tell us whether we, the civilians of Romania, who are in the vicinity of the war in Ukraine, should also prepare ourselves.
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS): the Russian Federation has become a problem for the world order, and democracy. It is Russia’s war with the democratic world. It is not a war with Ukraine.
Yes, the people of Romania, as well as the whole population of the European Union, of Europe, have to worry, and we have to take the appropriate measures to be prepared.
I personally, not necessarily as a military man, believe that the Russian Federation will not stop there. If it wins in Ukraine, the main target will be the Republic of Moldova. We will see tensions in the Western Balkans. I am more than convinced that President Putin’s policy will escalate in the period immediately ahead.
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