The first 100 US military arrive in Romania
US military arrive in Romania to strengthen NATO eastern flank amid Russian-Ukrainian tensions.
Mihai Pelin, 09.02.2022, 13:00
The first US soldiers from a new
contingent to be deployed here have arrived in Romania. They were repositioned
from Germany and will be preparing the arrival of the rest of the contingent of
1,000 US troops Washington is planning to deploy to Romania. The move comes
amid the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and is aimed at consolidating NATO’s eastern
flank. Romanian defence minister Vasile
Dîncu explains:
100
soldiers have already arrived; they are specialists who will be preparing the barracking
of the rest of the troops. They arrived in Romania, as well as in other
countries, from what I understand, also in Poland. In Romania, they will be concerning
themselves, alongside our logistics experts, with precisely this thing. Naturally,
this means it won’t take long until the rest of the troops arrives, but we will
keep you updated on the details and even the places where they will be barracked
with the transparency that characterises us. For the time being there isn’t one
particular location or an exact date for their arrival.
The defence
minister also said that Romania is prepared to host the American troops. He emphasised
that from a military point of view, one cannot speak of imminent war. The US
military already in Romania as part of previous deployments are stationed at
three main bases: Deveselu (in the south), Mihail Kogălniceanu (in the
south-east) and Câmpia Turzii (in the north-west). The latter location is
considered a strategic location for the operations of the US air forces and an
important support base ensuring the so-called strategic depth: it is here
that possible reinforcements and military support for the allied troops would arrive
in the event of a hypothetical conflict with an aggressor attacking Romania. The
US also announced plans to invest over 150 million dollars in modernising the
infrastructure of the air base in Câmpia Turzii.
A week ago, the US
announced the deployment of around 3,000 US military to countries on the
eastern flank of the North Atlantic Alliance. Apart from those arriving in the
coming days in Romania, some 2,000 will be flown to Poland and Germany. The Pentagon
said these are temporary missions to consolidate the defence of European allies
in the context of tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The situation remains
tense, after Moscow massed over 100,000 soldiers and considerable combat
equipment on the border with its former Soviet republic. The West is fearing an
invasion, but Moscow denies it and made a series of demands, such as blocking
Ukraine’s access to NATO and downsizing activities in ex-communist states,
including Romania. Russia’s demands were rejected by the allies and efforts to find
a diplomatic solution continue. (CM)
