Romania Building Largest NATO Base in Europe

Construction has begun on the largest NATO base in Europe in Romania, where up to 10,000 servicemen and their families will be accommodated. The Mihail Kogălniceanu military complex will cover an area of 2,800 hectares with a perimeter of 30 km. The preliminary cost of constructing the base is estimated at 2.5 billion euros, as reported by Euronews Romania.

Located in Constanta County, the base will be equipped with airstrips, hangars for aircraft, storage facilities for armaments and fuel, training facilities, schools, childcare centres, stores, and a medical centre.

According to Romanian journalists, the new NATO base in Romania will surpass the Ramstein base in Germany. Romanian military officials note that in the current geopolitical context, with Russia continuing its aggressive actions against Ukraine, the construction of such a base strengthens NATO's eastern flank.

"Mihail Kogălniceanu Base will become the most important permanent NATO military structure in proximity to the conflict in southern Ukraine," stated geopolitical analyst Dorin Popescu. He also emphasized that the conflict is not likely to end "this year, in 2025, or in 2026," as it is long-lasting.

Currently, there are about five thousand servicemen at the Mihail Kogălniceanu airbase, most of whom are American soldiers.

It is also worth noting that neighbouring Bulgaria plans to build a NATO base worth $55 million. The project includes barracks, equipment storage facilities, and roads. The exact location of the military base has not yet been determined, but it is known that it will be located in the Yambol region in the southeast of the country. Construction is expected to be completed by 2025, according to Bulgarian Defence Minister Todor Tagarev.

Tagarev stated that most officers in the multinational group will be from Italy, and this group will perform defensive functions in case of military threats.

Currently, about 1000 NATO troops are stationed at the American military base in Novo Selo, Bulgaria. The Defence Minister explained that after the completion of the new base construction, the NATO contingent in the country could increase to 1500 servicemen.