March 27, 2022 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 27.03.2022, 20:00
UKRAINE – Russia has launched a
targeted cruise missile attack on military objectives in Lviv, western Ukraine,
Russia’s Minister of Defense said. Russia hit a fuel storehouse near Lviv with
long-rage precision missiles and used cruise missiles to hit a factory
repairing anti-missile systems, radars and tanks, the Russian official said.
Inhabitants in Lviv say several people were injured in the missile attacks.
Russia also announced it launched several long-rate missiles from the sea to
destroy an arsenal of S-300 missiles and BUK anti-air systems near Kyiv. In
other news, two humanitarian corridors are expected to allow the evacuation of
civilians from Mariupol and other cities, where the humanitarian situation is
deteriorating by the day. A representative of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry
said Russia has started targeting fuel and food warehouses, meaning the
Government in Kyiv will need to disperse its stocks of both in the near future.
VISIT – EU Commissioner for
Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, is paying an official visit to Bucharest on Monday
and Tuesday. The EU official will meet president Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister
Nicolae Ciucă and other Romanian officials. Talks will focus on economic
prospects and the situation in Romania, a month after the start of the Russian
invasion in Ukraine. On Monday, Commissioner Gentiloni will visit a center of
the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, while on Tuesday he will give an
opening speech at an economic debate.
NATO – Romania’s Prime Minister,
Nicolae Ciucă, will be attending the meeting of NATO heads of government from
southeastern Europe, held in Sofia. According to a government release, the
meeting is hosted by the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Kiril Petkov. It will be
an opportunity to discuss the effects of the Russian invasion in Ukraine and
security in southeastern Europe, Nicolae Ciucă said. Talks will also focus on
the short, medium and long term effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on
regional security. The Romanian Prime Minister will also hold talks with his
Bulgarian counterpart, Kiril Petkov, the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Zdravko
Krivokapic, as well as with the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Dimitar
Kovačevski.
ROMANIA-USA – Senate Speaker
Florin Cîțu reiterated during talks with Washington officials the need to
consolidate NATO’s eastern flank, including by boosting American military
presence. 25 years after the signing of the Strategic Partnership between
Romania and the United States, the Romanian official reiterated Romania’s
commitment to increasing defense spending to 2.5% of GDP and stepping up
military cooperation with the United States. In a post on Facebook, Florin Cîțu
also argues that one the topics tackled during the talks was the importance of
ensuring Europe’s energy security and Romania’s contribution in this respect.
As part of his visit to the United States, the Romanian official also met with
representatives of the Romanian community in the USA, whom he told they can
contribute to consolidating the strategic partnership.
DST – Romania on Sunday
switched to Daylight Savings Time. Clocks were advanced one hour, making Sunday
the shortest day of the year. The measure was introduced with a view to
ensuring maximum use of sunlight. The National Rail Company (CFR) announced the
switch will not impact rail traffic. Until the last Sunday in October,
Romania’s standard time will be UTC +03:00.
HANDBALL – SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea
on Sunday lost to Herning-Ikaast Handbold of Denmark 39-33 at home in the first
leg of the EHF European League quarterfinals. The return leg is scheduled for
April 2 away from home. (VP)
