Disinformation on modernization of Mihail Kogalniceanu Airbase, efforts, aimed at strengthening defence and deterrence capabilities

   The Ministry of National Defence (MApN) rejects the speculations on the process of expansion and modernization of the 57th Air Base "Captain Aviator Constantin Cantacuzino" at Mihail Kogalniceanu, launched in the Romanian and international public space, through which "manipulative interpretations and scenarios, not in line with reality" are being spread."The investments planned for the modernization and expansion of this military base of the Romanian Army will result in the first complete and complex element of airport infrastructure built by Romania after 1990, aimed at significantly improving the operational and training capabilities of the Romanian and Allied Air Forces in view of strengthening the security pole on the Eastern Flank of the Alliance. The manipulations in the public space on this topic are in line with the disinformation and propaganda campaigns with which the Russian Federation supports its hybrid attacks against allied countries," MApN said on Thursday.According to the cited source, NATO membership ensures the freedom and prosperity of Romanians in a democratic society and Romania has never had stronger guarantees for national sovereignty and security."NATO operates as an instrument to amplify and protect the sovereignty of each of its members, not only in the field of defence and security, but in all dimensions. All developments that concern the boosting of Romania's deterrence and defense capabilities, including those that concern Allied forces and capabilities deployed on the national territory as part of the measures to strengthen the Eastern Flank, are either related to the ability of Romania's armed forces to act interoperably with NATO, or in response to concrete developments in the security situation in the region," the Romanian ministry points out.MApN maintains that "the reality that the Russian propaganda and propaganda vectors in the Romanian and Euro-Atlantic public space are trying to cover up through disinformation and manipulation is that, since the 2000s, the Russian Federation has moved ever more aggressively away from the spirit of partnership with the North Atlantic community, expressed in the NATO-Russia Council, a consultation body in which Russia was treated by the allies from equal and principled positions.""In accordance with Soviet traditions, the Kremlin aggressor denounces imaginary aggressions, reviving the myth of the besieged city with the means of the information society," the Romanian ministry adds.MApN recalls Russia's military incursions in the region and the fact that Russia "militarized" the Black Sea, invaded Ukraine and illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, and since 2022 it is engaged in an illegal war of aggression against a sovereign neighbour."The brutal war Russia is waging against Ukraine is just one dimension of Russia's assault on the democratic and free world. At the same time, the Russian Federation is engaged in a persistent set of hybrid actions against NATO and EU member countries and other states in the Black Sea region, such as the Republic of Moldova, which it constantly blackmails, particularly through energy and economic instruments, but also with hybrid actions," the Romanian ministry said.It is against this backdrop that all the measures taken by Romania and its allies in the Black Sea region to strengthen the defence and deterrence posture of any aggression by Russia against allied territory must be understood."All these measures were of an exclusively defensive nature, being decided and implemented in a transparent manner and directly proportionate to the level of threat posed by Russia's aggressive actions," the ministry added.Thus, the presence of allied military personnel in the 57th Air Base at Mihail Kogalniceanu, as well as in the Deveselu Military Base, in the 71st Air Base in Campia Turzii, in Cincu and in other command and training facilities on Romanian territory represents "both a practical normality in the context of Romania's NATO membership, and a direct expression of the allies' solidarity in the face of threats to regional peace and security generated by the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation".MApN details that the investments in the expansion and modernization of the infrastructure of the 57th Air Base in Mihail Kogalniceanu were established by a Romanian Government decision in 2019. The duration of the modernization works is phased over 20 years, with the total investment estimated at over 12 billion RON.The Romanian base that the Government is modernizing at Mihail Kogalniceanu will be endowed with a new runway, designed with its own airport movement areas, flight control point, platforms for aircraft operation and beaconing and radio navigation systems, but will also have administrative and social facilities, transit and storage areas, areas for aircraft maintenance, a park for military technology, fencing and access control points, perimeter enclosure road and internal roads.Upon completion, expected in 2042, the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base will be one of the most modern air bases in the allied common space. In addition to its role as a structure of the Romanian Air Force, the new infrastructure will also serve as a nodal point of reference for the transit and training needs of the allied forces, MApN points out."Attempts to present concrete measures to strengthen Romania's and NATO's defence capabilities as acts of national treason are part of the pattern of disinformation campaigns carried out in the Romanian public space by state actors with an agenda contrary to Romania's sovereignty and against NATO, which are aimed at inducing a climate of panic and undermining confidence in the ability of the institutions of the national security system to fulfill their constitutional missions and discrediting the actions to strengthen the defence and response capacity in the face of any form of aggression taken at national level or together with NATO allies," the Romanian Defence Ministry further affirms.  (Photo:https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=559149743338007&set=pcb.559150563337925)