Denial of missile overflight in eastern NATO state disputes Ukrainian accusation on Russia
Date
2/12/2023 8:36:27 AM
(MENAFN) A recent report made by the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, Valery Zaluzhny, accusing Russia of launching a missile over Ukrainian airspace, has been dismissed by Romania, a key NATO member in the Eastern region. Zaluzhny claimed that two Kalibr cruise missiles fired by a Russian warship in the Black Sea had passed through Ukrainian airspace, before crossing into Moldova and Romania, and finally re-entering Ukraine. On the other hand, the Defense Ministry of Moldova reported that a missile had entered its airspace near the town of Mocra in the breakaway area of Transnistria, and the time of the alleged violation coincided with what Zaluzhny had reported.
The Moldovan Foreign Ministry pointed the finger at Moscow for the violation of the country's airspace and summoned the Russian ambassador in Chisinau, Oleg Vasnetsov, to protest. The Romanian Defense Ministry, on the other hand, refused the claim that its airspace had been violated. The Ministry stated that it had tracked a missile launch from a Russian warship near Crimea, which briefly traversed Moldovan airspace before re-entering Ukraine. The missile's trajectory was no closer than 35 kilometers from the Romanian border, and the military briefly diverted two MiG-21 aircrafts from a NATO air patrol mission.
The Russian administration has not yet remarked on these claims. This comes after a recent incident in mid-November when senior officials in Kiev accused Russia of deliberately striking Polish territory during a missile attack on targets in Ukraine. The incident resulted in the death of two civilians in a border village. President Vladimir Zelensky called for "collective action" against Russia, but later admitted that he was not "100 percent sure" who the rocket belonged to. Moscow, on the other hand, stated that images of the crash site clearly identified the projectile as a Ukrainian S-300 air defense missile.
To sum up, tensions between Ukraine and Russia continue to escalate, and accusations and counter-accusations are being made on a regular basis. The international community is closely monitoring the situation, and many are concerned about the possibility of a bigger war breaking out in the area.
MENAFN12022023000045014228ID1105561665
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.