Romania’s aid to neighboring Ukraine continues.

The Romanian Defense Minister, Angel Tîlvăr, on Tuesday had the first conversation of this year, via video conference, with his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov. The two discussed the evolution of Russia’s war of aggression against neighboring Ukraine, almost two years after the outbreak of the conflict. According to a Defense Ministry communique, the officials discussed the status and perspectives of the main topics of bilateral interest. Angel Tîlvăr assured his Ukrainian counterpart that Romania remains committed both within the European Union’s EUMAM Ukraine mission (EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine) and within Great Britain’s INTERFLEX operation. I told Minister Umerov that Romania condemns in the harshest terms the Russian aggression, the attacks on the Ukrainian population and civil infrastructure, actions that have intensified in recent weeks, and I assured him that Romania continues to support Ukraine, alongside allies and partners’, said Angel Tîlvăr, according to the communique.

In this context, the two officials discussed concrete measures to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the field of defense, with focus on the importance of training Romanian and Ukrainian pilots at the European F-16 Training Center in Romania. The center was inaugurated in Feteşti (south-east) at the end of last year and can train both Romanian pilots and those from allied and partner countries, including Ukraine. In fact, President Volodymyr Zelenski announced at the end of the official visit he paid to Romania last October that Ukraine had obtained important agreements, including regarding the military support that Bucharest will continue to offer to Kyiv. In addition, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmitro Kuleba, repeatedly thanked Bucharest, including for the military aid, which President Klaus Iohannis himself labeled as „important military support”.

However, it should be mentioned, that, in support of Ukraine, Romania emphasized the humanitarian dimension, the granting of medical assistance and air medical evacuation actions to other states for the injured Ukrainian patients. Since the beginning of the war, Romania facilitated the transfer of humanitarian aid and the operationalization of a HUB in Suceava (north). Moreover, even from the first days of the war, Romania announced that it had prepared hospitals to provide care and treatment for wounded Ukrainian soldiers. Romania also took steps to facilitate, during these two years of war, the transit of tens of millions of tons of cereals from neighboring Ukraine to the areas where they were needed. Last but not least, Bucharest is a firm supporter of the European path of both Kyiv and Chisinau, support that materialized last December in the opening of the EU accession negotiations for the two states.

(Daniela Budu, Radio Romania International)