Ukrainian drones paralyse Moscow airspace for three days in row
As Romania prepares for the second round of its re-run presidential election, Bucharest Mayor and independent candidate Nicușor Dan is mounting a bold challenge to beat his nationalist opponent George Simion, who won the election's first round last Sunday.
In a joint interview with Euronews and Euronews Romania, Dan, who came in second after leapfrogging the ruling big tent candidate Crin Antonescu in a dramatic finish to Sunday's vote count, maintained his strongly pro-European positions, including with Ukraine, one of his key differences from his self-proclaimed "Euro-realist" rival.
"I would like Ukraine to enter the European Union," he said, "just as I would like the Republic of Moldova to enter the European Union."
"In the event that I am president, I will campaign for this within the European structures."
Emphasising his beliefs, Dan is confidently pro-European, though he is not turning his back on good relations with Donald Trump's administration in Washington.
"I want Romania to maintain its pro-Western direction," Dan said, "which means pro-European, for Romania to be active in the European Union. On the other hand, I want to preserve the strategic partnership Romania has with the United States, which is very important, especially in the security area."
Asked about Trump himself, Dan emphasised pragmatism.
"Romania has a strategic partnership with the US that I want to see continued and expanded. I would like a greater presence of American companies in Romania," he pointed out.
"And I would obviously like a retention of American troops in Romania, which is an additional security guarantee for Romania."
The biggest question hanging over the election, though, is what has led to Simion's meteoric rise on the right, an event that saw the first attempt at the election cancelled because of alleged irregularities in the first round.
"It is a failure of the traditional political class, one that was exploited by those who shouted louder, who had stronger, more populist messages," Dan says of his opponent's success.
"Romania has a big problem, which is corruption. This is the reason why the doubling of GDP in the last 10 years has not been reflected in the living conditions of ordinary people."
"Romania has a problem with the functioning of the state apparatus that people, again, see very well. But on the other hand, Romania has the resources to correct all these things and transfer the economy to prosperity."
A slew of flight delays and diversions at Moscow airports affected thousands of travellers yet again on Wednesday following another Ukrainian drone attack.
Days before the Victory Day parade in the Russian capital — one of the largest public holidays and the most important events for President Vladimir Putin — chaos in Moscow's airspace persisted for the third day in a row.
According to the Association of Russia's Tour Operators, some airports have been closed, while around 350 flights have been reportedly affected.
At least 60,000 passengers have experienced disruption, with many of them left stuck on board planes for several hours.
Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency also warned of flight delays across central Russia "due to the late arrival of aircraft at the initial airports of destination."
For a third consecutive day, Russian authorities report downing Ukrainian drones approaching Moscow, disrupting aviation in the region.
Russian outlets claim that a Ukrainian drone attack caused a "collapse" at airports in the Moscow region, forcing airlines to delay departures or divert planes elsewhere.
Among those affected is Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. His plane was reportedly forced to divert to the Azerbaijani capital of Baku because of the threats in Russian airspace.
According to Serbian state news agency Tanjug, his flight to Moscow to attend the parade was disrupted by what the agency calls "active hostilities between Russia and Ukraine".
Brussels issued a stark warning to the Serbian leader a few days ago, indicating that Vučić's visit would violate EU membership criteria and potentially hurt Serbia's accession process to the 27-member bloc.
Earlier, Serbian newspaper Novosti reported that Lithuania and Latvia have denied a flight with Vučić on board from crossing their airspace en route to Moscow for the Victory Day parade on Friday, citing "political (...) technical and diplomatic sensitivity".
The same outlet also reported that Poland and Lithuania had denied flyover rights to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, raising similar concerns. His attendance remains uncertain at this point.
Estonia also said it would not allow the aircraft carrying leaders heading to the Victory Day parade in Moscow to pass through its airspace.
"Estonia does not intend to support the event in any way," Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said.
"We have stressed to our European Union colleagues that as Russia is a country that launched and continues a war in Europe, participation in propaganda events organised by them should be ruled out."
In an effort to protect and secure the parade, Putin announced a unilateral 'truce' from Thursday to midnight on Sunday.
The Kremlin announced the measure on 28 April, claiming all military actions would halt during that period and urging Ukraine to "follow this example."
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the proposal as a "theatrical performance" designed to reduce Russia's international isolation and secure favourable conditions for Moscow's Victory Day events on Friday.
He also said that Ukraine could not guarantee the safety of foreign officials planning to attend Victory Day events in Russia.
On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia's unilateral ceasefire during the Victory Day celebrations remains in place and will run from midnight to midnight from 8 to 11 May.
Overnight on Wednesday, Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack on Kyiv, killing two people and injuring eight others, including four children, officials reported.
The European Commission is preparing for a possible no-deal scenario in negotiations over a future free trade agreement with Ukraine as time is slipping away with the existing scheme set to expire on 5 June.
'There are time constraints, therefore we are also exploring potential transitional measures in case the negotiations for reviewing the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) are not finalised and applied by 6 June,' a Commission spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The spokesperson added that these potential measures are now also being discussed with Ukrainian counterparts.
'I'm not saying transitional measures will definitely be needed,' he continued. 'What I am saying is that we are preparing for that possibility, which I believe everyone agrees is what a responsible European Commission should do.'
Currently, trade between the EU and Ukraine operates under the Autonomous Trade Measures (ATMs), which temporarily suspend all tariffs and quotas on Ukrainian agricultural exports. This system was introduced in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The ATM scheme, which has already been extended once, is due to expire in June and cannot be renewed again. The Commission has repeatedly stated that it has no intention of extending the ATMs beyond that date anyway.
The existing arrangement has faced pushback in some EU member states, particularly France and Poland, where farmers have protested against the influx of Ukrainian agricultural imports since trade barriers were lifted.
A formal free trade agreement is therefore needed to replace the current system. 'Our priority is to work on the review of the EU-Ukraine DCFTA,' the spokesperson said.
However, agriculture remains the most sensitive issue. The EU Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen, recently emphasised that future trade arrangements will not include the same level of quotas and imports allowed under the ATMs.
By contrast, Ukraine hopes to maintain the current level of access. 'We would like to begin negotiations with our partners in the European Commission to preserve the existing level of cooperation and enshrine it in the new agreement,' Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said during a visit to Brussels last month.
The EU's goal is to provide long-term predictability and stability for operators in both the EU and Ukraine, the Commission spokesperson said.
'This will strengthen the perspective for Ukraine's gradual movement towards EU accession, as well as addressing sensitivities on our side, notably on the agri-food sector,' he said.
Still, the EU is in no rush. 'Things are ready when they're ready,' the spokesperson said, highlighting that the Commission must consult with member states and pointing out that a change in leadership at the Commission has also affected the timeline.
'These things can't always move as quickly as we might like,' he concluded.
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