Escalating attitudes: relations between Russia and Romania are straining over Ukraine
The deterioration of relations between Russia and Romania is leading to a rapid deterioration of the security situation in the Black Sea. Experts interviewed by Izvestia state that the situation in the region is becoming increasingly tense, and not the least role in this is played by provocations from Ukraine and the internal political crisis in Romania itself. On August 27, Moscow responded to the expulsion of its diplomat by declaring the Romanian employee of the diplomatic mission in the Russian Federation persona non grata. Under these conditions, Bucharest continues to deliberately escalate the situation. Romania has already requested from the United States, France and Turkey an increase in the number of flights of naval reconnaissance aircraft in the Black Sea.
Russia's response to Romania
Relations between Russia and Romania have sharply deteriorated over the past month. The Russian Federation has declared an employee of the republic's embassy in Moscow persona non grata. On August 27, Charge d'affaires of Romania to Russia Liliana Burda arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building on Smolenskaya Square. She spent less than five minutes there and promptly left, refusing to comment to the press.
Charge d'affaires of Romania to Russia Liliana Burda at the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Moscow's move was a response to the expulsion of a Russian diplomat from Bucharest. Earlier, Russian Ambassador Vladimir Lipaev was handed a verbal note obliging one of the diplomatic mission's employees to leave the country in five days. The Romanian authorities explained this by saying that from July 24 to 26, they shot down three drones that violated the air border. According to Bucharest, F-16 fighters even took to the air to intercept targets, and the last drone was destroyed off the Black Sea coast in the Sulina Kilia area. Bucharest blamed Moscow for the incidents.
However, Russia has not been provided with any evidence of involvement in the incident. As the Russian Embassy in Romania previously reported to Izvestia, the host country only demonstrated "pieces of styrofoam", passing them off as evidence. At the same time, Romanian officials were unable to answer any of the specific questions regarding the technical parameters of the spacecraft's flight. Bucharest went further: after making a demonstrative diplomatic demarche, he recalled his ambassador from Moscow for consultations.
A logical conclusion was drawn from this: Bucharest is simply staging Russian attacks. According to the Russian side, the large—scale staged media campaign was launched with only one purpose - to cover up the disastrous consequences of Romania's irresponsible line of support for the Kiev regime. At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that they would not copy someone else's "theatrical gesture" and recall the head of their diplomatic mission, Vladimir Lipaev, from Romania.
According to Vadim Trukhachev, an associate professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, the aggravation of Russian-Romanian relations is caused by the internal political crisis in the republic and the desire of the authorities to mobilize the electorate. Bucharest uses statements about the "Russian threat" to obtain additional Western funding as a "frontline state," the expert noted in a commentary to Izvestia.
Rising tensions in the Black Sea
Romania is gaining an increasingly important geopolitical role in the Black Sea region, acting as a key strategic outpost of NATO and the United States. Since 2024, the country has been actively modernizing the Mikhail Kogalniceanu airbase. The President of the Republic, Nikushor Dan, promises that it will be "the largest military base in Europe."
Romania, like other states of the North Atlantic Alliance, is systematically preparing for a direct clash with Russia. However, Ukraine is becoming the key source of destabilization in the Black Sea region. A clear confirmation of this is the recent attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on a Turkish cargo ferry, which was reported by the Haber Trabzon news portal. According to him, the civilian vessel left the port of Samsun on August 25 and was heading for Tuapse, but was attacked on its way to its destination. As a result of the strikes, a fire broke out on board, and five crew members were injured.
Under these conditions, Bucharest is intensively building up its defenses off the Black Sea coast. In particular, two autonomous marine systems of the Triton type, designed to detect and track drones, were put into operation in the port of Constanta. According to the Constanta Seaports Administration, these measures are designed to increase the security of critical infrastructure and strengthen the risk response capacity in the water area.
—The National Company Seaport Administration is constantly investing in improving the capabilities to protect critical port infrastructure and the level of security in the port of Constanta, as well as in improving the security of companies operating in the port," Mihai Teodorescu, the company's CEO, told Izvestia.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed at a recent briefing that the Kiev regime continues to create serious military threats to the states of the Black Sea region. She called on the NATO countries to pay attention to the fact that the weapons they transfer turn against the alliance itself. As an example, the diplomat recalled the incident that occurred on August 20, when a Romanian F-16 fighter jet was forced to destroy a Ukrainian naval drone off the coast of Romania.
Bucharest, meanwhile, has requested from the United States, France and Turkey an increase in the number of maritime reconnaissance aircraft flights in the Black Sea, Vice Admiral Mihai Panait said earlier. This will benefit not only NATO, but also Ukraine, including with which the West continues to share information, Artyom Purchun, an employee of the Faculty of World Economy and World Politics at the Central Research Institute of Higher School of Economics, told Izvestia.
The Black Sea region is coming very close to a direct clash between NATO and Russia, which is strongly facilitated by the incessant attacks of Ukrainian drones on ships. Kiev's provocative activity in the water area finally turns the Black Sea into a zone of increased military risk, where any accident can provoke a global conflict between nuclear powers.
The situation in the Black Sea region is becoming increasingly tense, and the spillover effect is gradually expanding the area of potential escalation. This is evidenced not only by incidents of unidentified UAV crashes in Romania, but also by regular cases of detection and destruction of marine drones by the Romanian Coast Guard.
Of particular concern is the further militarization of the Black Sea with the participation of NATO countries. The strengthening of the alliance's military presence is objectively perceived by Russia as a pressure factor and creates prerequisites for a retaliatory build-up of forces in the region. The most dangerous is the formation of a spiral of mutual reinforcement, when the actions of one side become the basis for retaliatory steps by the other.
Romania would benefit from such an escalation due to its commitment to the North Atlantic Alliance and trusting relations with the United States due to its support for the operation in Iran. At the same time, Bucharest's request is in line with NATO's strategic priorities to strengthen its presence in the Black Sea region.
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