The Minister of Defense made a very important statement with information that many Romanians should know about the war in Ukraine, and not only, and this because he tells us that Romania did not send mercenaries to the neighboring country to fight in her favor, and she does not know of the existence of any.
The Minister of Defense refutes the information coming from Russia regarding the alleged existence of Romanian mercenaries in Ukraine, stating that Romania does not encourage this, does not know of the existence of any, but that based on individual freedom, anyone could go there, but without the support the Romanian state.
"It is part of the hybrid war, of the propaganda war that Russia is waging (n. ed. vis-à-vis the information on possible Romanian mercenaries in Ukraine), about a month ago there was information from the MFA in Moscow that made a hierarchy of the number of mercenaries in Ukraine, Romania being placed 3rd, with 5-700 mercenaries there, but it is not true.
If it were true, the Romanian Army has no way of knowing, we did not send soldiers to Ukraine, the Romanian state does not participate in such actions. If, probably on the basis of individual freedom, there would have been Romanians or Moldovans there, then the Ukrainian authorities could confirm it. We don't have the knowledge about Romanian mercenaries that are there, but it is part of the propaganda through which the Russians try to create the culprits, to make us responsible for what is happening.
Compared to what they announced to other nations, that out of hundreds of people, they killed half of the mercenaries, this pusa they put on the Romanians seems a smaller one. It is false information, from our point of view. We cannot even verify such information because the Romanian state does not participate in any way with soldiers in this region.
If Romanian volunteers go to fight in Ukraine, the ministry has no way of knowing, because Romania does not participate in this conflict. Obviously, we forbid the participation of those who are active or reservists, but in the name of individual freedom, there could probably be people who would sign up as volunteers in these armies.
I saw that Russia also does this, that Ukraine also accepted mercenary soldiers, as we call them, but we do not participate in this, and it is a matter of individual freedom."
