President Nicușor Dan stated on Thursday evening that Russia is not capable of attacking NATO, but will continue hybrid provocations to destabilize the West. The head of state emphasized that the risk of the war expanding beyond Ukraine is „extremely low.”
On the other hand, Romania must remain vigilant against cyber attacks and disinformation campaigns, the president stated in an interview with Digi24.
"Russia cannot attack NATO, but it tries to destabilize"
"In recent weeks, we have seen more provocations, but Russia's war against the Western world started long ago. Their goal is to sow distrust in the Western democratic model using sophisticated technological tools. I do not see Russia capable of attacking NATO at this moment, but the challenges will continue through destabilization attempts," said Nicușor Dan.
The president ruled out an escalation of the conflict beyond Ukraine's borders: "The risk of the situation escalating into a direct military conflict with NATO is extremely low. Our role is to deter, and that's what we are doing, together with our partners."
Disinformation and cyber attacks
Nicușor Dan emphasized that Romania closely collaborates with allies to repel hybrid attacks. "There have been over 80,000 cyber attacks on Romanian state structures. We are doing well in this regard, but in terms of disinformation, we are one step behind Russia. If a fake site is seen by 200,000 people in two hours, the impact is already there, even if you shut it down later," President Dan said.
The head of state also explained the legislative changes. "The old law did not cover situations with drones, rockets, or civilian aircraft. In May, we adopted a law allowing their shooting down. Sovereignist parties opposed it, although what can be more sovereign than defending your own territory? In the case of a drone flying over Romanian airspace for 50 minutes, there was an order to shoot it down, but a decision of opportunity was made not to fire. The Poles chose differently in four out of twenty cases," the head of state emphasized.