Romania told Ukraine to ‘be quiet’ after Russian drones hit its territory – Zaluzhnyi

Zaluzhnyi made his statement during a forum held two weeks ago, but the remarks about Romania were only recently shared on social media, DIGI24 reports.

"Romania understands the need to stay silent. Moreover, they called me and said, ‘Be quiet,’" Zaluzhnyi said, referring to the incident when two Russian Shahed drones crashed on Romanian territory. He did not specify when the conversation took place or who he spoke with.

Zaluzhnyi recounted asking his Romanian counterpart, "Two Shaheds fell in your port—why are you silent?"

The response from the Romanian side was: "Please be quiet. You activated your electronic warfare systems. The drones are heading toward us now."

"Then shoot them down," Zaluzhnyi replied. "You have 40 F-16s."

The former commander of Ukraine’s Armed Forces also noted that, unlike Poland or the Baltic states, Romania remains silent.

"The Baltic countries understand that Article 5 [of the Washington Treaty providing for the principles of collective defense] does not exist and never will. Poland understands this, as both Ukrainian and Russian missiles occasionally land there. Romania understands everything but remains silent," he said.