Romanian defense chief Gheorghita Vlad urged her country and NATO to better prepare for a potential war with Russia , warning that Moscow will continue its military escalation if it succeeds in Ukraine.

“The Russian Federation has become a problem for world order and democracy: in reality it is Russia's war with the democratic world , not with Ukraine,” Romania's top military officer said in an interview to the broadcaster Free Europe.

Appointed defense chief in November 2023, Vlad said he believes that Russia "will not stop" at Ukraine : "If it wins, the main target will then be the Republic of Moldova. We will see tensions in the Western Balkans. I am more than convinced that President Vladimir Putin's policy will increase in the immediate future ."

“We need to discuss a policy to prepare the population,” the senior officer said, referring to Romanian legislation that aims to introduce voluntary military training for Romanians aged between 18 and 35.

Vlad confirmed that Romania currently has 80,000 professional soldiers in its armed forces and aims to increase that number to around 120,000 personnel .

The defense chief also noted that Romania's military reserves remained at 2007 levels.

(Unioneonline/vl)

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