The new center, which has been operational since January, will operate alongside a similar facility in Rzeszów, Poland, as NATO’s military infrastructure in countries surrounding Ukraine continues to grow.
At the same time, a newly expanded military base at Mihail Kogălniceanu, Romania, will increase the alliance’s presence in the Black Sea, which \has traditionally been dominated by Russia. It will be able to host 10,000 soldiers by 2030, reaffirming Bucharest’s strategic orientation as a committed NATO member.
The expansion of Romania’s defense capabilities comes in the wake of Washington’s new approach to European security, which includes demands that European nations should shoulder a greater share of their own defense, both financially and operationally. In October, the US said it would withdraw around 700 military personnel from Romania, but another 1,000 remain.
Romania’s ambitious military strategy is not comparable in scale to Poland’s armament program, but it is significant. The Mihail Kogălniceanu base, for example, will be NATO’s largest airbase in Europe.
Romanian Defense Minister Radu Miruţă has requested an increase in his ministry’s budget in 2026 to reflect the worsening security situation in the region (the country had regularly suffered Russian missile and drone incursions). He wants 2.7% of GDP, up from 2.3% in 2025. Yet Romania has the highest budget deficit in the European Union, so any increase will need to be part of a careful fiscal balancing act.
Romania’s role as a vital NATO logistics hub has integrated it into the alliance’s broader strategic infrastructure and supply chains, particularly in the development of the Danube Corridor, which uses ports on both sides of the river’s shared border between Ukraine and Romania. It has become a critical artery to sustain Ukrainian exports.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the corridor has functioned as a strategic and economic lifeline for Kyiv, enabling the export of more than 193 million tons of Ukrainian goods. The scale underscores Romania’s transformation from a peripheral position into a vital node in NATO’s logistical network, with the Danube as a commercial conduit and an instrument for countering Russian disruption of Black Sea trade routes.
Amid Moscow’s hybrid warfare aimed at weakening the Atlantic alliance and incursions into Romanian, Polish, Danish, and Estonian airspace, Washington’s announcement in October that it would be removing troops from Romania ruffled feathers on both sides of the Atlantic.
But Bucharest confirmed US personnel will stay at the Deveselu missile-defense site and the Mihail Kogălniceanu airbase. The moves are consistent with the US stepping back and telling European NATO to take greater responsibility for its own security. The establishment of the new facility will strengthen NATO’s capacity, enabling it to boost military assistance to Ukraine and counter Russian influence. It also gives Romania a central role in NATO’s future.