It is very difficult for a non-specialist to affirm whether the Russian drones entering Romanian airspace should or should not be shot down by the Romanian Army. Because beyond the momentary impulse, the implications must be carefully weighed, together with NATO allies, which is probably happening.
Just as there is a discussion among jurists about whether there is indeed no legal framework for shooting down drones or if the issue is simply establishing, without any doubt, the hostile intent that would allow for military intervention.
Article 15 of Law no. 122/2011 directly refers to shooting down "drones and radio-electronic equipment used for committing a hostile act."
If the entry of drones truly represents a hostile act against Romania or if it is just about accidental intrusions within a hostile act against Ukraine, and what effect declaring these intrusions as hostile acts against a NATO member state would have, that must be carefully considered.
Moreover, considering the most recent incident involving three drones that flew over Romanian airspace for a considerable amount of time, no one can exclude a provocation by Russia, precisely to trigger a violent reaction and hence consequences on NATO stability, specific tactics of Vladimir Putin.
So, the discussion of whether the drones should have been shot down or not goes beyond the competence of 90% of commentators, including myself.
What is disturbing in this story, however, is how Romania handles the public communication of such a highly sensitive subject.
Secrecy and insecurity
Let's remember that initially, the Romanian state did not even consider it necessary to acknowledge the drones' penetration, and it is debatable whether the Army knew about them from the beginning.
Do you remember the two boys in shorts sent with a Duster to search for the drone reported by an insistent mayor from the Delta? They didn't find it, and the President of Romania himself assured that not a single nut from a drone fell here.
It took the Ukrainian army publicly announcing that Russian drones were falling on us for a serious search to begin, the debris was found, and since then the Ro-Alert messages have been issued.
Klaus Iohannis rushed to invoke aggression at that time: "If it is confirmed that these elements come from a Russian drone, such a situation would be completely inadmissible and a serious violation of Romania's sovereignty and territorial integrity, a NATO allied state." Then he dropped the aggression topic, contradicted at the NATO level, precisely because the consequences would have been extremely serious.
The explosion in Costinești was another example of fumbling in public communication.
On Sunday, the public learned from the Ukrainians about the entry of the three drones and the place where at least one of them would have fallen.
After a long time, the Romanian Army also provided details, including the deployment of combat aircraft, an extremely important element for the population to feel safe in such a delicate context.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, a war on Romania's border, for incomprehensible reasons, the watchword has been secrecy, including regarding the aid provided to Ukraine. From President Zelenski, we learned about the military support provided by Romania to Ukraine, support for which we were thanked.
It is absurd to claim that everything must and can be publicly disclosed in a war. Clearly, it cannot. But that does not mean you should always try to keep everything silent and react only when forced by others' "indiscretion."
This kind of stifled communication generates insecurity in the population, which feels exposed to all kinds of dangers.
At the same time, trust in authorities dramatically decreases, official communication is no longer believed, and conspiracy theories spread rapidly.
Even if only drone pieces fall on our territory, Romania, like the rest of NATO, is in a war, not a conventional one, but one of communication, of manipulating minds, of spreading fears and conspiracies.
When a country's authorities behave like this, they only end up playing the role of Putin's useful idiots.