Until recently, the military base here near the Black Sea was little more than a stopover. Now it is at the front line of NATO’s defense against Russia.
Airstrip at the aging compound has been used for years by U.S. troops to supply operations in Afghanistan, but in recent weeks American and allied forces have pulled up 1,800 troops, hundreds of vehicles, and other military equipment to the windswept fields.
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An attack on one of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s 30 members is akin to an attack on all of them, which is one of its cornerstones.
Col. Vincent Minguet, the commander of a new NATO force that includes about 500 French and 300 Belgian troops, said: “We’re here to send a message to Russia: Don’t set one foot across the border,”
Located on Romania’s 400-mile-long border with Ukraine, Mihail Kogălniceanu’s base is now part of a new front line for NATO in Romania. In Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Slovakia, NATO has recently deployed four new battle groups. As part of its response after Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, NATO sent forces to Poland and the Baltic states.
The battle groups are responsible for bolstering eastern NATO defenses and discouraging Russian aggression. The Black Sea is within reach of Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia.
“President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has changed our security environment for the long term; It is a new normal and NATO is responding.” the NATO Secretary-General said last month after the crucial NATO leaders’ summit in Brussels
Due to Russian aggression, the alliance has deployed a record number of troops, planes, and vehicles on alert. Along with significant air and naval assets, 40,000 troops have been deployed on the alliance’s eastern flank. According to Stoltenberg, Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated he wants NATO sent back from its eastern positions, but the invasion has led to more alliance troops being stationed at Putin’s doorstep.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
