Romania tells citizens ‘be prepared for war’ as Russia fears grow | World | News

The Chief of the Romanian Army has warned his country’s citizens they should be prepared for war, as the nations on NATO’s eastern flank grow increasingly wary of Russia. Vlad Gheorghiță was asked if the country is bracing for conflict and whether it’s taken any preparatory measures similar to that of Poland and Finland.

He said: “Starting this year, we have a change in the law on the preparation of the population for war. Also starting this year, we intend to bring young people to the Ministry of National Defence, on a volunteer basis, to be trained. We will continue these programs, depending on the budget allocations.

“This year we are training about 1,000 soldiers. In the following years we will have two or three training series per year.

“The training capacity is between 2,000 and 10,000 soldiers per year. We need to have a population prepared for various crises, such as fires, earthquakes and so on.

General Gheorghiță added that, while he doesn’t believe the Black Sea should be defended by NATO, Romania will not hesitate to “defend its infrastructure” in its exclusive economic zone.

He concluded: “Legally, Article 5 cannot be activated to defend the exclusive economic zone. But that does not mean that we do not defend our zones. We will have allies, if necessary.

“If you are referring to the platforms in the Neptun Deep exploitation, all platforms are national territory. Critical infrastructure also means submarine cables. It is the duty of the Romanian state to defend its infrastructure.

“We must invest in the Romanian naval forces. Protecting critical infrastructure is a mission of the Ministry of Interior. The Ministry of National Defense will provide the necessary support.”