Anca Gradinaru is a correspondent for RFE/RL's Romanian Service.
Work is under way to expand Romania's Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base into one of the largest bases in Europe that hosts NATO troops. The facility is located about 400 kilometers from Russian-occupied Crimea and 100 kilometers from Romania's border with Ukraine.
Romania urgently needs to adopt a legal framework that would allow civilian volunteers to pursue military training as the country need to be better prepared in case Russia's war against Ukraine spreads, the NATO member's new army chief has told RFE/RL.
Romanian teachers filled the streets of Bucharest on May 25, on the fourth day of their strike over low salaries and crumbling facilities. Educators call the state's latest offer of two small annual bonuses "an embarrassment." Teacher pay is about half the national average wage of $988 monthly.
The deputy secretary-general of NATO, Mircea Geoana, says Russia has suffered a string of defeats on and off the battlefield in the year since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but a "long war" is likely still ahead for Kyiv, making support from Western allies critical.
