Defence Minister Mario Banozic said on Friday after a meeting of the parliament's Defence Committee that citizens could feel safe and that measures had been taken with regard to the crash of an unmanned aerial vehicle in Zagreb last week to collect data, which would make its route clearer.

For now, we have the route since the moment the aerial vehicle appeared on Romania’s radar system and we can say that it came from the territory of Ukraine, but the question remains where it was launched from and “who was at that moment in Ukraine,” he said.

We also talked with the Ukrainian defence minister who gave us some information and the technical documentation of the unmanned aerial vehicle Tupolev 141, which has certain modifications, and in this light we looked at the bomb it had to clearly define whether it was a mistake, intentional or it was some third possible scenario, Banozic said.

All those data are important to us, as well as to all NATO members, said Banozic, adding that after last Thursday no defence system of any member state was any longer at the same level of preparedness and radar monitoring.

“I don’t know who informed (NATO) Secretary General Stoltenberg, but after his announcement that the aerial vehicle was unarmed, we informed him about the details of the investigation and he changed his opinion, as well as his deputy and colleagues in Hungary, Romania, Slovenia and Ukraine,” he added.

“That wasn’t as harmless as some military analysts interpreted it in the public,” Banozic said.

He added that everyone in the system was given clear information, but that people who were not at the crash site and were not familiar with the investigation were giving their opinions, creating confusion in the media.

He recalled that the National Security Council Office met the morning after the crash at which all  homeland security components were instructed about communication.

Banozic: My announcements were not hasty

Banozic dismissed claims that his announcements about the investigation findings “were hasty” given that he said they would be made public when the investigation was over, yet in the meantime some physical evidence was released.

“Every time we go public with something, we have the foundation for it,” he said.

Asked if he could say that there had been no intention for the drone to crash in Zagreb, Banozic said it would be possible to say more about that after analysing flight recorder data and comparing radar information.

Asked if it was possible that who launched the drone would never be found out, he said he hoped that would not be the case, that “highly knowledgeable and skilled investigators are working on the case” and that he was confident the launching location would be established.

Regarding air defence system, Banozic confirmed that talks would be held with the Americans and others, saying that after the drone crash “the most pressing matters must definitely be dealt with.”

We are trying to keep the situation secure in cooperation with the Allies and to deal with the systems at the same time, he said, adding that the best options will be sought.

The defence shield that has been raised is a guarantee and it shows that we must have a response to such events and that it’s not just PR, Banozic said.

Defence Committee chair Franko Vidovic said he was satisfied with the drone information obtained and that citizens could be at peace. “It’s an incident which happened and which must not happen again.”

Committee member Matko Kuzmanic said Banozic had shown once again that he was not up to his duty and could not take constructive criticism. “He must be more engaged in politics, the job for which he is paid.”