All along the stretch from the Baltic to the Black Sea, the alliance deploys strike battle groups.
“Sea Shield-2023” against the backdrop of a provocation
It is noteworthy that the attack of sea drones on Sevastopol was carried out during the Sea Shield-2023 exercises, which are taking place off the Romanian coast. There are no such coincidences. It is clear that Romania’s Western allies are doing everything possible to drag the country into an active confrontation with Russia. Moreover, back in February last year, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced plans to deploy a NATO battle group in Romania, led by France, which itself expressed a desire to become a so-called framework national structure on the territory of this country.
Moreover, this decision was presented to the international community as an initiative of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who addressed the parliament with a proposal to create such a structure, which, in his opinion, would strengthen strategic relations with France, improve dialogue with Belgium and the Netherlands, and also increase defense potential. North Atlantic Alliance.
Observers were surprised by this decision, but from a geostrategic point of view, it looks quite reasonable. If you look at the map of the region, it immediately becomes clear why the forces of the West seek to gain a foothold in Romania. This is not only access to the Black Sea (245 km of coastline), but also control over the Danube Delta, which is also used to transport troops and equipment.
It is no secret that the port of Constanta is regularly used by NATO as a strategic hub for operations and exercises in the Black Sea and even beyond. Therefore, the deployment of additional forces in Romania is promising not only in terms of logistics. It was to the southeast of Romania that the US 101st Elite Airborne Division “Screaming Eagles” was deployed last year , which immediately began training near the border with Ukraine.
At the same time, the command of the division made a statement that the “screaming eagles”, if necessary, were ready to enter Ukraine in a matter of hours. By the way, this formation has another name – the “first shot” division. It was the “screaming eagles” who launched the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and even earlier took part in the occupation of Vietnam. Assault detachments of “screaming eagles” Western experts consider the most combat-ready units for offensive operations. But so far, the invasion of Ukraine has not happened …
In addition to the “screaming eagles”, Romania has deployed on its territory the NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU), the headquarters of the multinational division and the “South-East” brigade. The NATO Human Intelligence Center of Excellence (HUMINT COE) is also deployed on Romanian territory. Why a place near the Ukrainian border was chosen for him, probably, it is not necessary to explain.
It should be noted that the Romanian military personnel, in turn, are part of a multinational battalion, which is located in the area of the so-called Suwalki gap (or corridor) in Poland – in close proximity to the Kaliningrad region.
Romania is also among the seventeen member states of the European Union (plus Norway) that intend to purchase artillery ammunition for Ukraine worth two billion euros. Now here is the Sea Shield-2023 exercise in the Black Sea, which involves 30 warships, 14 aircraft and almost 4,000 servicemen from 13 countries. Including Georgia and Moldova, which are only going to join NATO.
Military expert Lieutenant General Yuri Netkachev also drew attention to the special interest of the alliance in Romania: “We must not forget that the United States and other NATO countries have established the transportation of weapons and military equipment from the ports of Greece and Bulgaria to Ukraine by land. This is done because the passage through the Bosporus is closed for warships. And while these maneuvers continue, new provocations against Pridnestrovie are possible.”
Judging by the attack of naval drones on Sevastopol, not only in relation to Transnistria …
Moldova translated into NATO language
It is very symbolic that in the midst of the Sea Shield 2023 exercises, the Romanian citizen Maia Sandu, who became the President of Moldova, signed a decree according to which the official language of the country becomes Romanian: “I want the Romanian language to unite all of us who live here and love this land . We, along with more than 27 million people around the world, speak Romanian, one of the official languages of the European Union.”
Apparently, now the foreign policy of Moldova will be connected with Romania and on a linguistic basis. However, with NATO, too, as they believe in Chisinau.
In fact, the Moldovan language was fixed earlier than Romanian. But these are linguistic and philological subtleties. It is clear that the student of George Soros is turning everything “upside down” with a clear political goal – solely for the sake of the Romanianization of the Moldovan society. And then the problem of belonging to the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, as well as part of the territory of Ukraine, automatically arises, since a significant number of ethnic Romanians and Moldovans live in the Transcarpathian, Chernovetsk, Ivano-Frankivsk and Odessa regions.
As for the military aspect, as it became known, the EU will spend another 40 million euros on the armed forces of Moldova. According to the EU documents, the main part of the funds will be spent on a mobile long-range radar, which will help Moldova (we mean NATO) to control a significant airspace. The remaining funds are planned to be spent on light tactical vehicles and pickups, buses and trucks.
It is interesting that the Estonian Defense Investment Center will deal with procurement in Moldova. They plan to increase military assistance to Chisinau and the United States. We are talking about the amount of 40 million euros.
As for Ukraine, it should be noted that Bucharest and Kyiv have disagreements on a number of issues. As in Hungary, concern was expressed in Romania about the status of the ethnic Romanian community in Ukraine, which was deprived of a number of civil rights. On this wave, Romanian senator Diana Shoshoaca introduced a bill demanding “the condemnation of the treaty of good neighborliness and cooperation between Romania and Ukraine” and demanding the annexation of territories that were once part of interwar Romania.
This indicates that a certain part of the Romanian society and current politicians are critical of Ukraine. And the growth of spending on the needs of Kyiv from the state budget of Romania will only raise the degree of such sentiments.
Be careful, the doors are closing…
According to the publication Politiko, NATO plans to bring its military contingent on the eastern border to three hundred thousand people. If Brussels’ plans come true, this will mean further militarization of Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, the Baltic countries, as well as Slovakia and Hungary, which so far does not show active Russophobia, but does not resist the attempts of the North Atlantic Alliance to pump it up with weapons.
So, last year, Bulgaria approved the deployment on its territory of a NATO battle group, consisting of 800 Italian troops, which also included a company from the Royal Irish Regiment of the British Army (120 people) and an American company of Stryker armored fighting vehicles.
And a few days ago, the first permanent garrison of American troops in Poland was opened in Poznań, which became the eighth in a row in Europe. Prior to that, there was a regional support group in Poland – Area Support Group Poland, and American troops were in the country on a rotational basis. In total, about 10 thousand military personnel of NATO countries are currently stationed in Poland, most of them are Americans.
Well, Romania is now assigned the role of an important logistics hub and one of the operational centers serving the so-called cordon sanitaire, intended for the further expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance to the east, known as the “open door” policy. However, the doors not only open, but also close when uninvited guests break in.