Radio România Internațional

Tag: Pentagon

April 14, 2023

Ukraine – Romania will continue to support Ukraine as long as it is necessary to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, said the Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tîlvăr, on Thursday, in Bucharest, after the meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov. The Ukrainian defense minister was on his first official visit to Romania, where he participated in the first conference on security in the Black Sea organized within the International Crimea Platform. During the meeting, the Romanian minister condemned in the toughest terms the war of aggression illegally and unjustifiably launched by Russia against Ukraine, which killed many civilians and destroyed critical infrastructure in many regions of Ukraine. The agenda of the meeting included talks on aspects related to the intensification of bilateral cooperation, also in the context of the EU and NATO, the Romanian side reiterating the importance of continuing the political and military dialogue and its implementation by prioritizing the implementation of the Comprehensive Assistance Package within the Alliance.

Expenses — All Romanian ministries have presented plans to reduce expenses to balance the budget, but many do not want to give up the allocated funds. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent, they justified every penny they received from the budget, while others came with small reductions, so that, all in all, the sum of the proposed spending reductions is far from the target of 20 billion lei (approx. 4 billion Euros), which should be saved until the end of the year. The Labor Ministry proposes a 20% reduction in fuel expenses and a reduction in non-essential internal and external trips. The Tourism Ministry is also considering the tourism marketing chapter. However, there are also ministries that will not substantially reduce expenses, such as the Ministry of European Investments and Projects, where the employees are paid mostly from European money, while the Ministry of Culture proposed savings of only 2 million lei. All proposals will be analyzed next week in the government meeting. Also next week, the Finance Ministry is expected to come up with its own analysis regarding the reduction of expenses and the increase in budget receipts.

Good Friday – Easter is celebrated on Sunday, but until then, Orthodox Christians (majority in Romania) and the Greek Catholics mark Good Friday today. This is a day when they remember the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and His placement in the tomb. Good Friday is the day when Jesus Christ was crucified between two thieves, being accused of blasphemy and opposing the Roman authority. According to the Gospel texts, at the moment when Jesus died on the cross, the earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke. After being taken down from the cross, Jesus was placed in the tomb provided by Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy man of the time. The burial of Jesus is symbolized today by the placement of the Holy Epitaph in the middle of the churches, which is then carried around the church. This procession takes place during the Good Friday service, which is actually a symbolic funeral service for our Lord Jesus.

Washington – A member of the US Air National Guard, suspected of being the author of the recent leaks of classified information of the Pentagon, was arrested on Thursday in Massachusetts, in the northeast of the United States. His name is Jack Teixeira and he is 21 years old. According to American media, he runs “Thug Shaker Central”, an online group where about 20-30 people express their passion for guns and video games. Originally posted on the groups web page – “Thug Shaker Central”, the secret documents that have been leaked since last weekend also on the Twitter and Telegram social networks give an image of the information gathering activities carried out by the US on a global level. Information was leaked about the Russian-Ukrainian war and the Western military aid offered to Kyiv. Dated from February and March, these documents show the shortcomings of both the Russian and Ukrainian armies. (LS)

14 April 2023
More US troops in Romania

The Pentagon will maintain thousands of soldiers for at least another nine months at the Mihail Kogălniceanu base in Romania, the American military deployment closest to the conflict in Ukraine, officials quoted by The New York Times have announced. According to the American publication, until now it was not clear whether the US would maintain its unit at the base in southeastern Romania or move its forces elsewhere.

Starting last summer, about 4,000 soldiers from the US 101st Airborne Division are stationed at this base, including small groups of troops that frequently carry out exercises on the border with Ukraine. The troops will leave Romania in the next two months, and according to officials quoted by The New York Times, they will be replaced by a different brigade of the same division, led by senior officers and high-level military strategists. Sending them near a conflict zone allows, say military analysts, to make decisions more quickly on the positioning of troops and weapons, if Russia were to push the war into NATO territory, of which Romania is a part.

Such a move “would ensure that the United States is well positioned to provide robust deterrence and a defensive posture to our allies on the European continent”, the Pentagon said in a statement on Saturday, adding that “the U.S. will continue to adjust posture accordingly in response to the dynamic security environment”. Meanwhile, starting on January 15, over a hundred American soldiers are training alongside infantrymen from the 300th Mechanized Infantry Battalion”St. Andrew” in Galaţi (eastern Romania).

According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the purpose of the training is to deepen and perfect techniques, tactics and work procedures, to acquire the characteristics and combat capacity generated by the military equipment, as well as to increase the level of interoperability in accordance with NATO requirements. Several thousand foreign soldiers are currently in Romania, after the NATO summit in Madrid in the summer decided to strengthen the Eastern Flank, and their number is growing. Most of them are from the United States and France, stationed at the Mihai Kogălniceanu Military Base.

Canadian, British and Italian military personnel have also been stationed here, by rotation, on Air Policing missions. For the first time, the first battle group under NATO command was established in Romania, led by the French, in Cincu, in the center of the country. Also, hundreds of French and Dutch soldiers have come, so far, by rotation to Romania. And the Multinational Brigade from Craiova (south) was reinforced by Polish and Portuguese soldiers. Thousands of American and foreign troops are deployed in Poland as well, also to strengthen the position of the North Atlantic Alliance in the face of Russias aggression against Ukraine. (MI)

23 January 2023
More US troops in Romania

The Pentagon will maintain thousands of soldiers for at least another nine months at the Mihail Kogălniceanu base in Romania, the American military deployment closest to the conflict in Ukraine, officials quoted by The New York Times have announced. According to the American publication, until now it was not clear whether the US would maintain its unit at the base in southeastern Romania or move its forces elsewhere.

Starting last summer, about 4,000 soldiers from the US 101st Airborne Division are stationed at this base, including small groups of troops that frequently carry out exercises on the border with Ukraine. The troops will leave Romania in the next two months, and according to officials quoted by The New York Times, they will be replaced by a different brigade of the same division, led by senior officers and high-level military strategists. Sending them near a conflict zone allows, say military analysts, to make decisions more quickly on the positioning of troops and weapons, if Russia were to push the war into NATO territory, of which Romania is a part.

Such a move “would ensure that the United States is well positioned to provide robust deterrence and a defensive posture to our allies on the European continent”, the Pentagon said in a statement on Saturday, adding that “the U.S. will continue to adjust posture accordingly in response to the dynamic security environment”. Meanwhile, starting on January 15, over a hundred American soldiers are training alongside infantrymen from the 300th Mechanized Infantry Battalion”St. Andrew” in Galaţi (eastern Romania).

According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the purpose of the training is to deepen and perfect techniques, tactics and work procedures, to acquire the characteristics and combat capacity generated by the military equipment, as well as to increase the level of interoperability in accordance with NATO requirements. Several thousand foreign soldiers are currently in Romania, after the NATO summit in Madrid in the summer decided to strengthen the Eastern Flank, and their number is growing. Most of them are from the United States and France, stationed at the Mihai Kogălniceanu Military Base.

Canadian, British and Italian military personnel have also been stationed here, by rotation, on Air Policing missions. For the first time, the first battle group under NATO command was established in Romania, led by the French, in Cincu, in the center of the country. Also, hundreds of French and Dutch soldiers have come, so far, by rotation to Romania. And the Multinational Brigade from Craiova (south) was reinforced by Polish and Portuguese soldiers. Thousands of American and foreign troops are deployed in Poland as well, also to strengthen the position of the North Atlantic Alliance in the face of Russias aggression against Ukraine. (MI)

23 January 2023
March 11, 2022

Visit — The US Vice President, Kamala Harris, arrives today, for the first time, in Romania, on the second stage of a diplomatic tour she has started in Europe. She is present in the region to discuss the war in Ukraine and to assure the allies on NATOs eastern flank that the United States is supporting them. President Klaus Iohannis and the US Vice President will discuss, in Bucharest, the measures to strengthen NATOs defense and deterrence posture the eastern flank. At the same time, they will approach the prospect of increasing the American and allied military presence in Romania, as an additional measure to ensure the security of the country and of the entire region. On the other hand, the two will talk about transatlantic coordination on imposing new sanctions on Russia. The visit takes place in the context of the 25th anniversary, in 2022, of the launch of the bilateral Strategic Partnership. On Thursday, Kamala Harris visited Poland, where she said the US was ready to defend every inch of the North Atlantic Alliance territory. At the same time, she gave assurances that Ukraine would receive all the help it needs and added that Russia would continue to face severe consequences and costs.

Ukraine — On the 16th day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Russian troops are advancing slowly towards Kyiv today, and new bombings have been reported in Mariupol (southeast). Moreover, the Russian troops launched airstrikes on the Ukrainian cities of Dnipro, Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk (west). In turn, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced that in the Chernihiv region (north) the Russian troops are suffering serious losses in the fight against Ukrainians, the invaders being demoralized and surrendering. On the other hand, the Russian leader Vladimir Putin is meeting in Moscow with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The two will discuss the conflict, and also economic cooperation, in the context of the Western sanctions. Western countries have also imposed new sanctions on Belarus, which hosted Russian troops on its territory, troops that launched attacks on Ukraine. On Thursday, the negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers Sergei Lavrov and Dmitro Kuleba, mediated by Turkey in Antalya, did not report any progress towards a ceasefire in Ukraine. They only discussed the promise to continue the humanitarian efforts to evacuate civilians, without any firm commitment from Moscow though. The G7 countries have announced that they will soon introduce a new package of sanctions against Russia, following one of the largest attacks by one state against another in Europe since World War II. More than 100,000 Ukrainians have been evacuated in the past two days, according to the authorities.

Summit – The war in Ukraine and its consequences on the economies and lives of European citizens are being discussed by the EU heads of state and government also on the 2nd day of the Versailles summit organized by the French presidency of the EU Council. Romania is represented at the summit by President Klaus Iohannis. The EU continues to provide humanitarian, medical and financial assistance to the refugees from Ukraine and to their host countries, European leaders said in a statement today. They reiterated that the EU would provide protection to all Ukrainian refugees. At the same time, the EU is calling on Russia to abide by international humanitarian rules and to ensure the safety of civilians who want to leave the country and to allow humanitarian aid to reach victims and those seeking refuge in Ukraine without any obstacle. On the other hand, the 27 officials continue today to discuss the plan proposed by the European Commission, which provides for the reduction, by two thirds, this year, of the Russian gas imports, so that by 2030 no EU country should buy any more hydrocarbons from Russia. The Russian gas accounts for more than 40% of European consumption and four complementary options are currently being considered: imports from other countries, diversification of energy sources – liquefied gas and shale gas, making consistent gas stocks before each winter and accelerating the development of energy from non-polluting sources.

Talks — The US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has had telephone conversations with the Romanian and Bulgarian defense ministers about the situation in Ukraine and the issues related to NATO consolidation, a Pentagon spokesperson said. In a discussion with the Romanian defense minister Vasile Dîncu, the US official underlined the need for permanent coordination between NATO allies in connection with the events in Ukraine. The Pentagon chief welcomed Romanias intentions to host a humanitarian aid logistics center and discussed plans for deploying a French-led multinational fighting group in Romania. Lloyd Austin also spoke with the Bulgarian defense minister Dragomir Zakov about Bulgarias plans to form a NATO-led multinational fighting group on its territory.

Pandemic — Almost 3,000 new cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours were announced on Friday in Romania. 50 deaths were also reported of which 3 from the previous reference period. Less than 4,000 people are hospitalized, 608 being in intensive care. After almost two years of alert, all the restrictions imposed by the pandemic have been lifted in Romania since March 9. On the other hand, the authorities announce that the vaccination against COVID-19 is moving to the family doctors offices. The vaccination rate is still low, with just over 8.1 million people being fully vaccinated. (LS)

11 March 2022
Ziua care a schimbat lumea

America şi, deopotrivă,
comunitatea internaţională continuă, după 17 ani, să-i plângă pe morţii de pe
11 septembrie 2001, ziua cea mai neagră din istoria
atacurilor teroriste împotriva civilizaţiei. Trei mii de oameni au fost atunci
ucişi de comandourile de kamikaze din Al Qaida, care au deturnat patru avioane
pentru a le folosi ca proiectile împotriva unor clădiri emblematice pentru
puterea economică şi militară a Statelor Unite – turnurile gemene de la World
Trade Center şi Pentagonul. Unul dintre avioane, care ar fi vizat însăşi Casa
Albă, s-a prăbuşit într-o pădure, după ce pasagerii au preferat să moară
luptându-se cu teroriştii sinucigaşi.

Numărul victimelor a continuat să crească
în anii care au urmat, iar în 2017 a fost ridicat în memoria lor un nou monument,
cu plăci de granit pe care sunt gravate numele celor ucişi. Pe o placă separată
au fost gravate numele sutelor de poliţişti, pompieri, constructori şi
voluntari care au pierit, ulterior, din cauza cenuşii şi fumului toxic pe care
le-au inhalat. Detaliu elocvent, placa are un spaţiu gol, pe care pot fi
gravate numele celor care ar mai putea muri din aceleaşi cauze. Circa 75
de mii de oameni suferă, încă, de tulburări mintale şi fizice provocate de
trauma de atunci. Majoritatea covârşitoare a
celor morţi erau civili, originari din 90 de ţări. Între ei sunt şi cinci
cetăţeni americani de origine română:
Eugen Gabriel Lazăr, Corina şi Alexandru Liviu Stan, Joshua Poptean şi
Ana Fosteris, precum şi celebrul arhitect Arkady Zaltsman, orginar din
Republica Moldova după planurile căruia a fost
construit Palatul Parlamentului din Chişinău.

După
atacurile de pe 11 septembrie 2001, a fost pentru prima dată când Alianţa Nord
Atlantică a activat articolul 5 din Carta NATO, al cărei principiu e toţi
pentru unul, unul pentru toţi. Asemenea întregii lumi civilizate,
Bucureştiul a condamnat, atunci, categoric atentatele din Statele Unite şi s-a
raliat din prima clipă coaliţiei antiteroriste. Legată, deja, la acea dată, de
americani printr-un parteneriat strategic, dar încă aflată în anticamera NATO,
România n-a ezitat să-şi trimită militarii în Afganistan, unde reţeaua Al Qaida
se afla sub protecţia talibanilor. Conform datelor
publicate de ministerul Apărării Naţionale, 26 de militari români au murit în
timpul misiunilor din luptă sau de patrulare. Alţi circa 100 au fost răniţi în
teatrul de operaţiuni afgan. Şi astăzi, după 17 ani, 625 de români sunt tot
acolo, alături de camarazii lor americani. Desfăşurate în sud, lângă Kandahar,
trupele române acordă consiliere pentru forţele armate şi de securitate afgane
şi asistenţă umanitară populaţiei civile afgane şi întreprind zilnic misiuni de
cercetare, soldate, nu de puţine ori, cu capturarea unor insurgenţi talibani.

11 September 2018