Zaluzhnyi spoke about the request of Romanian officials not to voice the facts of the downing of Shahed drones on their territory
The former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhnyi said that Romanian officials asked him not to announce the facts of the fall of “Shaheed” on the territory of their country. That’s what he’s about told during communication with the community of the Ukrainian Catholic University.
According to Zaluzhnyi, the countries of NATO’s eastern flank do not have confidence in real protection from the Alliance in the event of an attack. As an example, he cited Romania, which did not make tough statements even after Russian drones fell on its territory. Zaluzhnyi recalled that the Romanian side asked him not to disclose information about the fall of “Shaheed”.
“They called me and said: keep quiet, please. Well, two Shaheds fell into the port, why don’t you keep quiet? And then they call and ask: why did they fly to us because of your EW? Then shoot them down, I say. You have 40 F-16 planes standing by.” – said Zaluzhnyi.
He also emphasized that the Baltic states, Poland and other allies clearly understand that Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which provides for collective defense, does not really work.
“The Baltic countries understand this very clearly. They know that there is no 5th article and there was no such thing. Poland also understands this – sometimes Ukrainian missiles fall there, then Russian ones. Romania understands everything, but remains silent.”, he emphasized.
Recall that Article 5 of NATO provides that an attack on one member of the Alliance is considered an attack on all, and countries must provide the necessary support. In the history of NATO, this article was used only once – after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the USA. At the same time, the fall of Russian drones or missiles on the territory of Poland and Romania did not lead to its activation.
