NATO is reportedly planning to increase its military presence on Europe’s eastern flank following the crash of a drone onto the roof of a residential building in Romania.
Speaking to Al Arabiya, NATO Military Committee Chair Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone of Italy said that the alliance has already taken concrete steps to strengthen its eastern borders.
Referring to NATO’s commitment to defend “every inch” of member states’ territory and plans to deploy additional forces to the region in response to incidents such as the one in Romania, Dragone stated, “Yes, we are organizing this.”
A New Defense Line from the Baltic to the Black Sea
Providing insight into the alliance’s regional strategy, Admiral Dragone explained that NATO aims to establish a new mechanism that will connect everything from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.
While declining to provide details about the nature of the forces to be deployed or the specifics of the planned system, Dragone said that NATO is studying and implementing the most effective countermeasures against potential threats.
Moscow Responds to the Ukrainian Drone Claim and Calls for Transparency
Romania’s Ministry of Defense had blamed Russia for the incident in which a drone crashed onto the roof of an apartment building in the city of Galați. However, Moscow offered a different assessment of the event.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the incident in Romania was most likely caused by a Ukrainian drone. Recalling previous cases in which Ukrainian military drones had fallen on the territory of European countries, Putin said, “This case is most likely similar.”
The Russian leader added that Moscow would be prepared to conduct an objective investigation if the drone wreckage were handed over to Russian authorities, stressing that definitive conclusions could only be reached after a professional examination by experts.