(TheConservativeTimes.org) – The Ukrainian government is accusing Russia of attacking NATO member country Romania, as a Russian drone attack hitting a Ukrainian port on the Danube river is believed to have also ricocheted onto neighboring Romanian territory.
However, there is currently no way to confirm the attack, or if such a strike really impacted Romanian territory. The Romanian government, according to Reuters, has “categorically” denied the allegations put forward by Ukraine.
Russia has carried out long-range airstrikes on Ukrainian targets since it commenced its invasion of the country in late 2022. Russia also abandoned a deal in July that would have lifted a Russian blockade on Ukrainian sea ports along the Black Sea, and has since made a habit of carrying out military strikes against those ports.
The Ukrainian government’s allegations are quite serious due to the collective defense commitment that applies to all NATO members. That is to say, if one NATO member country is attacked, then all members of the alliance are obligated to come to the afflicted member’s defense. However, if a NATO member starts a war on its own, then the rest of the alliance is not obligated to get involved.
Such allegations also spark the question as to whether NATO really would mobilize collectively against Russia, or if it even has the capability to do so if needed. NATO has never collectively gone to war against any other country since its founding after World War II. The most important country in NATO, militarily, is of course the United States, which has been responsible for providing military assistance to many NATO countries in Europe as an added containment measure against Russia.
While the U.S. and other NATO countries are not technically at war with Russia, many have provided Ukraine — a country not part of NATO — with both economic and military aid in its fight against Russia, mostly in the form of military equipment and other supplies.
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