Construction of the largest NATO base in Europe underway in Romania
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Construction has commenced on Europe's largest NATO base in Romania, with an estimated cost of €2.5 billion.
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European Council President Charles Michel shakes hands with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace in Bucharest, Romania, March 27, 2023. (AP)
Construction has started on what is set to become the largest NATO base in Europe, located in Romania.
This project comes with a hefty price tag of €2.5 billion. The base, once completed, will reportedly enhance NATO's presence in the region and bolster Romania's defense capabilities.
The project involves the expansion of the Romanian Air Force's 57th Air Base Mihail Kogălniceanu, which will cover an area of 2,800 hectares and have a perimeter of 30 kilometers.
The news base in Constanța County, Romania, will accommodate 10,000 NATO troops and their families. It will reportedly feature various facilities including runways, aircraft hangars, storage units for weapons and fuel, training facilities, educational institutions, medical services, and commercial outlets.
Dive deeper
Spanish newspaper El Pais reported on February 15, citing diplomatic sources, that NATO is preparing to establish a new training center for the Ukrainian military, a project intended to supplement the European Union's training mission and assist Kiev in meeting the coalition's standards.
At the time, the sources informed the outlet that the new initiative would focus on enhancing the military readiness of Ukrainian personnel, as well as providing training in strategy and defense administration management.
According to the report, NATO defense chiefs are currently in the final stages of working out the specifics of the project at their meeting in Brussels, while it is anticipated to be formally approved at the alliance's summit in Washington in July.
Discussion points include the source of financing, whether it will be from NATO's accounts or a special fund, and whether training personnel should be permanently deployed to the base or sent by NATO states for shorter periods with rotation.
Moscow has repeatedly warned that NATO's provocations and threats to its national security might lead to a direct confrontation between Russia and the coalition.
Ukraine's war drafting saga continues
Two years after the war in Ukraine began, and as the Ukrainian army faced numerous hurdles, the Financial Times on March 13 reported on what Ukrainian troops call fading motivation and low morale.
A Ukrainian soldier expressed that their motivation was being "killed" on the battleground due to the two years of constant war with no rotation or breaks.
That is one of many reasons, the soldier noted, why men are avoiding being drafted to the frontlines.
A new mobilization legislation, set to be voted on by parliament on March 31, aims to revamp the country's legislative framework in front of a possible recruiting surge this year that might include up to 500,000 individuals. An estimated 330,000 troops are presently engaged on the battlefield.
In September, Ukrainian media reported that almost nine out of every ten Ukrainian draftees who enlisted in the army have either been killed or injured in combat.
The draft would strive to modernize recruiting and training. However, the bill is proving contentious, with more than 4,000 revisions proposed by Ukrainian MPs on the first draft.
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