NATO Reinforcing Eastern Flank After Romania Drone Incident, Says Admiral

DOHA, June 2. /TASS/. The North Atlantic Alliance is working to reinforce its eastern flank in Europe in the wake of a recent incident with an alleged Russian drone landing on the roof of an apartment building in Romania, said Admiral Guiseppe Cavo Dragone, the chair of the NATO Military Committee.

"NATO is already taking action, is reinforcing the eastern flank. <...> We are doing action there," he said in an interview with Al Arabiya television when asked to comment on the bloc’s plans to deploy additional troops eastwards and its commitment to defend "every inch" of allied territory in the event of incidents similar to the Romanian one.

The alliance intends to organize what the Italian admiral called a secure authority so "everything will be linked from the Baltic up to the Black Sea." Dragone did not specify exactly what force that would involve, nor did he elaborate on the authority. According to him, NATO is studying and employing "the best counter-US assets."

On May 29, the Romanian Defense Ministry reported that a drone had crashed onto the roof of an apartment building in Galati. Bucharest blamed the incident on Russia.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in response to a TASS reporter’s question that the incident involving a UAV in Romania was most likely caused by a Ukrainian drone. Stray Ukrainian drones have previously flown into European countries, and "in this situation, I also believe that it is most likely the case," the Russian leader argued. According to him, Russia is ready to conduct an impartial investigation if the wreckage of the drone is handed over to it.