Mine time: Romania sabotages the development of security measures in the Black Sea
Romania is avoiding discussing measures that would reduce the risk of incidents on the Black Sea and along the border with Ukraine. This was stated to Izvestia at the Russian Embassy in Bucharest. The increased frequency of drone attacks and attacks on civilian vessels have inflamed the situation in the region. Neighboring Bulgaria, despite the recent change of government, still adheres to strict NATO block discipline and is increasing its military presence in the waters. About what the militarization of the Black Sea can lead to is in the Izvestia article.
The growing militarization of the Black Sea
The Black Sea region has recently become the epicenter of unprecedented attacks. On the night of September 1 alone, more than 500 drones were intercepted over the Russian regions and the Black Sea, and 130 more the following night. Massive drone raids on the Kerch Strait and Novorossiysk terminals forced the authorities to introduce local emergency regimes in the Black Sea region. In response, the Russian military launched a series of attacks on port facilities in the Odessa region.
In these circumstances, Turkey is trying to assume the role of the main mediator in negotiations on maritime safety. On September 1, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a personal meeting at the SCO summit in Bishkek. Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that Ankara was in contact with Moscow and Kiev, hoping to develop new rules for safe navigation. However, other Black Sea NATO countries refuse to engage in dialogue. In particular, Romania does not intend to discuss this topic with Russia, the Russian Embassy in Bucharest told Izvestia.
— Romania is avoiding discussing measures to reduce the risk of unprovoked incidents along the border with Ukraine and on the Black Sea. It is obvious that she is not ready for a constructive dialogue on this topic, being bound by the guidelines formulated by the EU Foreign Policy Service," the diplomats stressed.
For Romania, the Black Sea is a space of strategic rivalry with Russia, and not a zone where it is necessary to look for a sustainable mechanism of interaction, says Artem Purchun, an employee of the Faculty of World Economy and World Politics at the Central Research Institute of Higher School of Economics. Any compromises run counter to the current NATO strategy, which after 2022 is aimed not at building trust with Moscow, but at a tough build-up of military forces.
The politics of neighboring Bulgaria are also increasing the degree of tension in the region. Despite the fact that after the parliamentary elections, opponents of military aid to Ukraine, led by Rumen Radev, came to power in the country, Sofia continues to observe strict NATO block discipline.
"Even in the absence of clearly expressed Russophobic rhetoric, official Sofia continues to follow Western guidelines in our direction, including in the context of "strengthening NATO's defense capability," the inevitable consequence of which is the militarization of the Black Sea region," the Russian Embassy in Bulgaria told Izvestia.
Is the risk of clashes in the region growing
The real problem was the drone incidents. Debris from attack UAVs and air defense missiles periodically fell on Romanian territory throughout 2026, which is why air alerts were constantly being issued in the border counties. However, two trends are clearly visible: official accusations against Russia and the hush-up of incidents involving Ukrainian UAVs.
Romania and NATO openly blame the Russian Federation for the increased incidents. The Russian Ministry of Defense and the Russian Foreign Ministry called all the accusations unfounded.
At the same time, the Ukrainian S-300 and NASAMS anti-missiles repeatedly lost targets and fell on the Romanian side. But the Romanian authorities and the media react to these cases in a completely different way — without making loud political statements and complaints to Kiev, classifying them as "the inevitable technical costs of Ukraine's defense."
NASAMS Missile Defense System
The situation in the region is aggravated by the mining of the water area by Ukraine. Drifting ammunition keeps washing up on the local coast and the port of Constanta. As a result, the joint naval group of Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey (MCM Black Sea), formed back in 2024, continues to operate to combat this threat. And despite this, Bucharest has become one of the main suppliers of weapons to Kiev.
— Romania is not showing, at least not yet, a desire for a direct military clash with Russia, which is being incited by Europe's "hotheads" from some countries. The Romanian leaders persistently claim that their country is not a party to the conflict, although it is through Romania that a significant part of the military transit to Ukraine takes place, the diplomats added.
Andrei Kortunov, an expert at the Valdai Club, noted that Romania has actually become the main route for arms supplies to Ukraine. If in 2022-2024 the Polish Rzeszow was the key and almost uncontested hub of NATO, by 2026 the alliance had purposefully turned Romania into the second most important military logistics hub on its eastern flank.
The increasing militarization, however, goes hand in hand with Bucharest's soothing rhetoric. Romania's acting Defense Minister Radu Miruta does not believe in Russia's preparations for an attack on NATO, as he stated on August 31. According to him, these concerns are not confirmed by the analytical calculations of other countries of the alliance.
It is not necessary to exaggerate the meaning of these words, as they do not indicate an improvement in bilateral relations, according to the Russian embassy. In fact, Mirutse only repeated what Donald Trump had said earlier, answering questions from reporters at the White House: "They are not going to attack." It is necessary to judge the true intentions of the Romanian leadership by specific cases, and not by public statements, the diplomats stressed.
— Things are such that our country is seen here as the main threat to European stability. Romania is clearly not interested in Russia's successful completion of its military operation and is openly trying to counteract this. The anti—Russian psychosis continues to inflate in the media sphere under far-fetched pretexts," the Russian Embassy noted.
The Russian Consulate General in Constanta was recently closed, and an employee of the embassy in Bucharest was declared persona non grata, the diplomats recalled.
In such circumstances, the general regional tension continues to grow, and it is no longer a question of curbing Moscow's phantom ambitions, but of a direct threat from the alliance itself. Thus, the deputy head of the Polish Defense Ministry, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, expressed her absolute readiness for a potential war. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko also pointed out that the military bloc is openly preparing for a direct clash. This is evidenced by both the general orientation of the NATO exercises and the accelerated development of military logistics on the eastern flank. At the same time, Moscow has no reason to attack the bloc's states, but Russia is ready to respond promptly to any challenges to its security.
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