BUCHAREST – Romania’s President Nicusor Dan and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a statement Thursday pledging to manufacture Ukrainian-designed defense systems, including drones, on Romanian soil to bolster both nations’ military industries.
The agreement, inked during talks in Bucharest, aims to leverage Ukraine’s battle-tested drone technology after four years of resisting Russian aggression. Romania, a NATO and EU ally sharing a 650-kilometer border with Ukraine, much of it along the vulnerable Danube River, has seen Russian drones violate its airspace and strike Ukrainian ports nearby.
The joint declaration commits to “producing Ukrainian defense systems and capabilities in Romania,” building on last year’s Romanian push for drone partnerships under the EU’s SAFE funding initiative. “Our military cooperation includes drone production,” Dan, a centrist who ousted a Ukraine-skeptic rival last year, confirmed after the meeting.
Zelenskiy highlighted Ukraine’s edge in fusing drone software with broader defense networks, positioning the tech as a shield for NATO partners. Discussions also covered energy ties, such as routing U.S. liquefied natural gas to Ukraine via Romanian pipelines and joint Black Sea projects.
Separate pacts advanced cooperation on minority rights and energy, while Dan vowed Romania’s backing for unlocking stalled EU aid to Ukraine, blocked by Hungary’s veto.