Romanian defense minister calls for NATO Black Sea mission to deter Russia

Romanian defense minister Radu Miruță said NATO should deploy counter-drone equipment, radars, and air defense missiles to the Black Sea as part of a new allied mission to deter Russia, according to Politico.

The official, who spoke to Politico during the Munich Security Conference, argued that Russia has a huge interest in the Black Sea and that its designs should be countered by NATO.

“We are seeing drones coming over the Black Sea to Ukraine,” Miruță said, and “activity is increasing. It’s difficult to scan this entire land 24 hours per day. We are scanning everything, but we are focusing our resources especially in the areas where the population resides."

Last year, NATO launched two missions, the Baltic Sentry and Eastern Sentry, aimed at tackling growing subsea cable-cutting incidents and bolstering the alliance’s vulnerable air defenses. The alliance should now launch a similar Black Sea Sentry scheme, Miruță said. NATO could deploy underwater drones, enhance satellite detection, and centralize its monitoring of the region.

Moscow’s presence in the Black Sea is exposing a “huge deficit” in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, according to Oana Popescu-Zamfir, director of the Bucharest-based GlobalFocus Center security think tank.

Another concern for Romania is that the Neptun Deep offshore natural gas project may not be covered by the security guarantees provided by Romania's NATO membership, according to the Head of Staff of the Romanian Army, Gheorghita Vlad.

Romania has seen over a dozen drone incursions in its airspace since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. To counter them, Romania bought new Merops anti-drone systems from the US. It also increased monitoring around the Neptun Deep sites.

To increase safety, Romania is asking for “a fair distribution over the entire eastern flank from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea,” according to its defense minister.

In response to the call, a NATO official told the publication that the alliance would “continue to adapt” its Eastern Sentry mission in response to “reckless violations of airspace, including in Romania.” NATO is “working with Romania to strengthen this line of effort even further,” the source added.