Romania has started work to rebuild and extend an air base that will be the largest NATO facility in Europe.
When the expansion of the 57th air base of Romania’s air force is completed, it will be able to permanently accommodate approximately 10,000 NATO soldiers and their families.
“In the new geopolitical context, with the war on the border, the development of the base will thus strengthen NATO’s eastern flank,” Euronews wrote, referring to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The extensive project, which will cost Bucharest €2.5 billion, will include a new runway, aircraft hangars, fuel, and ammunition depots, the channel reported. The base will also have accommodation for staff, schools, kindergartens, shops, and even its own hospital.
The facility is located at Mihail Kogalniceanu International Airport, near the port city of Constanta on the Black Sea coast. Some 5,000 NATO soldiers, mostly Americans, are currently stationed at the facility.
The basic infrastructure needed for the expansion is being built on-site, Euronews reports, adding that the final plan is to connect the base’s existing runway with a new runway and the international airport infrastructure. No completion date for the project was given.
Moscow has consistently warned the U.S. and its allies against NATO expansion in the east and military investment near Russia’s borders. Preventing Kyiv from joining the alliance was one of the main goals of the operation against Ukraine in 2022, the Russian leadership explained.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that he “doubts that anyone would be interested” in a direct military confrontation between Moscow and NATO, as such a scenario would mean “we would be one step away from a third world war.” He warned, however, that “in the modern world anything is possible.”
