With the decision to expand NATO’s military base near the strategic Black Sea port of Constanta, Romania will have stronger security guarantees, a representative of the Romanian Defence Ministry told Euractiv on Tuesday (19 March).
As the press in Romania reported, NATO is strengthening its eastern flank by expanding its military base in Constanta in the context of the war in Ukraine, only a short distance from the Ukrainian section of the Black Sea.
Work has already begun at the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base, with the new military complex expected to cover an area of 2800 hectares. Around ten thousand NATO soldiers and their families will be able to live there permanently.
The project will be built at the cost of €2.5 billion for the Romanian state and will resemble a town, with schools and hospitals. The base will become fully operational in 204, reports Euractiv
Commander Nicolae Crețu of the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base told the Romanian state broadcaster that a new runway, connections between the two existing runways, taxiways for aircraft and anti-aircraft protection systems will be built.
Reportedly, work has already started with the construction of access roads and electrical networks.
Dorin Popescu, a geopolitical expert, commented on Television Romania that the NATO military base in Mihail Kogălniceanu will become “the most important permanent NATO military structure in the immediate vicinity of the conflict in Ukraine”.
Romania has a maritime space of 30 thousand square kilometres in the Black Sea.
Romania is contributing the air base and training facilities, while the Royal Netherlands Air Force is contributing F-16 aircraft. The trainees are Romanian military former MIG-21 Lancer pilots and the instructors are former F-16 pilots.
The training center in Romania also trains soldiers from other NATO countries and Ukraine.
Currently, more than 5,000 soldiers from NATO countries such as France, Poland, Spain, and the USA are deployed in Romania.
As part of a series of warnings from Russian officials on March 18 and 19, vice president of the Committee for Foreign Affairs of the Council of the Russian Federation, Andrei Klimov, said the project represents a „threat for Bucharest”.
According to Klimov, the larger the „anti-Russian” military base and the „closer it is to Russia’s borders, the more likely it is to be among the first targets for retaliatory strikes”.
“If the Romanians like it, it’s their business, of course, but the Nato suicide club drags ordinary civilians into such adventures that can end very badly for their families and children. I’m not trying to scare anyone, I’m just reasoning logically. There won’t be any benefit for Romania from this and there will be more threats, this is a fact,” said the senator in a discussion reported by Russian media.
