Wallachian Gazette

🇷🇴🪖🇰🇷 Romania has a 3.3 billion USD budget for a new IFV platform that should replace its fleet of MLI-84s (BMP-1s). Although some 220 Piranha V IFVs were bought, the K21 packs a bigger punch and is better protected. The K21 (AS-21) was specifically designed by the Koreans to defeat other IFVs like the Soviet-Russian BMP-3 in use with the army of the DPRK (North Korea). One K21 costs 3.2 million USD and with the Romanian MoD's 3.3 billion USD budget for 298 IFVs, acquiring the K21 would leave some spare change. It is armed with a 40mm autocannon and two Raybolt ATGM launchers. Other contenders are the ASCOD 2, a Spanish-Austrian armoured fighting vehicle. ASCOD is very modular, coming in an armored personnel carrier variant, an IFV platform and even a light-medium tank platform, besides command & control, demining and med-evac variants. The cost is difficult to measure, due to each buyer looking for certain abilities. For example, in 2023 the Philippines paid 172 million USD for 20 "Sabrah" light tanks, which is an ASCOD 2 chassis fitted with a turret, 105 mm gun, 7.62mm coaxial machinegun, 8 smoke grenade launchers and two optional ATGM missiles. The cost would be 8.6 million USD per unit, which is in range of the budget of the Romanian MoD. Lastly, the German KF-41 Lynx, who just like the ASCOD-2 comes in many variants according to the buyer's needs. For reference, Hungary paid 2 billion EURs for 218 KF-41 Lynx meaning Hungary paid 9.17 million EURs per unit. @Wallachian_Gazette

🇷🇴🇵🇱🤝🇰🇷 April 22nd 2024 | Polish government officials and Romanian presidents and government officials arrived in Korea today. As you may have guessed, three countries gathered here to talk about defense, economy businesses. It appears that the Romanian here to confirm, inspect the K2 tank, K9 artillery, Nuclear energy business. They also highly likely talked about other weapons what I mentioned before like, ammunitions, missile systems(M-SAM-II, K239, Redback). Meanwhile Polish here to talk about additional K2, K2PL tank, K9 artillery, K239 long range rocket artillery and FA-50 contract. Not only that, Polish officials are here to observe Homar-K(K239) live fire exercise and ADD(Agency for Defense Development) which is Korea's top-tier weapons R&D department. Moreover, CTM-290(KTSSM) tactical ballistic missile for Homar-K purchase will be done in earnest. 🔗 Mason8718

🇷🇴🎬🎥🇷🇺 Romania participate at the 2024 BRICS International Film Festival (formerly, the Moscow International Film Festival) through Father Ciprian Mega and his work: "21 rubies" which aired in Romanian cinemas last year. The film was selected for finals competing with other 8 films. One such recommendation came from Nikita Mikhalkov a Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union. Without going into too much detail, the plot of the film is about a young prosecutor which tries to become the Romanian General Attorney but this depends on the approval of an American state secretary and the European Commission's representative in Romania. Her struggle to convince the two to make her the top prosecutor and the troubled personal life aim to paint the "ugly picture" of the contemporary Romanian society. Obviously, the film is critical of the pro-Western Romanian society which does not stand good with some people and has been censored with no hope of being nominated in a Western film festival. The release of the film was not without controversy in Romania. Fr. Ciprian Mega (he is a filmmaker and a priest) has a personal dispute with his superior, Bishop Sofronie (Sophronius) of Oradea and Bihor whom he accused of "tolerating homosexuality" within his jurisdiction. Fr. Mega's film was barred from being displayed in cinemas across several locations in the country reportedly after Sophronius exerted pressure on authorities to prevent the film "21 rubies" from being aired in cinemas. Fr. Mega told journalists that he went to Moscow because the "Russian accepted the film as is" and did not want to censor it even though the film contained some scenes critical of Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Mega's participation at the festival was criticised by the spokesman of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Vasile Bănescu, bishop Sophronius of Oradea and Bihor and lambasted by Romanian journalists who quickly wrote a hit-piece attempting to assassinate his character by claiming a fondness of Russia.

🚣 European Rowing Championships: 🇷🇴 Romanian delegation leaves with 8 medals: four 🥇 , two 🥈 and two 🥉. 🇷🇴 Romania ended the European Rowing Championship in 2nd place in the medal ranking.

🏓 European Champions League: 🇷🇴 Elizabeta Samara won her 5th title.

🇺🇸📄🇲🇩 The U.S. State Department's yearly report on human rights practices in Moldova made the following observations: 🔸 The Moldovan government took some anticorruption measures but they largely failed to cause any change, noting that corruption remains "endemic" with an emphasis on Moldova's justice system. 🔸 The report assessed that justice is Moldova is "selective" meaning that the law does not apply to everyone equally in the country. 🔸 Moldovan judges have a tendency to "indefinitely postpone hearings for wealthy or well-connected defendants" thus potentially allowing criminals to go free while their actions are prescribed. 🔸 Transparency is limited, the report noting that there are some limitations regarding court cases with the names of defendants and claimants being hid from the public, or the prosecutor and judge involved. 🔸 Sexual harassment goes unprosecuted, noting that victims are discouraged from going to law enforcement allowing abusers to escape without standing trial. 🔸 Antisemitism and "hate speech online and in media against members of the Jewish community remained a problem". Members of the Roma community remain "at higher risk of social exclusion and discrimination" than other people. You can read the report here @Wallachian_Gazette

🇪🇪🤝🇲🇩 Estonia is going to spend 40 million EURs equipping the Moldovan Armed Forces. The acquisition partially funded by the European Union, will see a new radar be added to the list of equipment operated by Moldovan military personnel. It will be a Czech VERA passive sensor, an electronic support system that uses measurements of time difference of arrival (TDOA) of pulses at three or four sites to accurately detect and track airborne emitters. The system is generally line-of-sight limited, with a nominal range of 450 km, the normal radio horizon. Detection of targets is within a sector of approximately 120 degrees, although IFF and SSR targets are detected using a dedicated omnidirectional antenna, and hence may be seen over 360 degrees. Up to 200 targets can be automatically tracked simultaneously, with an output rate adjustable from 1 to 5 seconds. Some other possible acquisition may be some new infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) or radio jamming equipment. 🔗 https://www.defenseromania.ro/scutul-republicii-moldova-construit-cu-bani-de-la-ue-estonia-cumpara-radare-blindate-si-echipament-de-bruiaj-pentru-chisinau_628041.html

🇲🇩⚖️🇲🇩 PAS MP, Lilian Carp, says that the governor of Găgăuzia, Eugenia Guțul, could be charged with "separatism" in a new investigation following one of her statements for which she called for the "self-determination of the people in Găgăuzia" if Moldova joins the European Union. @Wallachian_Gazette

🇲🇩🧡🇷🇴 Moldovan politician, Renato Ușatâi tells that ”If the Russians reach Nikolaev or Odessa, Moldova will reunite with Romania in under 24 hours” adding that ”this decision has been made long ago and all the necessary acts were taken”. @Wallachian_Gazette

🇷🇴🐣⚡️ Romania seems to be leveling off with births only falling by 1.3% in January and February 2024 compared to last year. Their current TFR is ~1.5, so far above their lowest ever (~1.25 in 2001) but still a large drop from the 1.86 TFR they saw in 2019. 🔗 https://insse.ro/cms/ro/content/mi%C8%99carea-natural%C4%83-popula%C8%9Biei-114 📎 Demographics Now & Then