NATO Rushes Planes, Drones and Radars to Black Sea After Attacks on Ships
NATO said on Tuesday it was deploying additional aircraft, drones and radar systems to the Black Sea after a series of attacks on ships in waters near Romania and Bulgaria, the latest spillover from Russia's war on Ukraine.
"Allies have or will send additional maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems, explosive exploitation teams, intelligence personnel, drones, and more to the Black Sea," Colonel Martin O'Donnell, a spokesman for NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, said.
"The most important thing we can do, however, is to increase our situational awareness in the region through increased sensors and data sharing," he added.
The strikes on civilian shipping off Bulgaria and Romania, both members of NATO and the European Union, have left about 20 sailors missing or dead and drawn condemnation across Europe.
NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart had earlier announced that the alliance would send "additional assets" after ambassadors from its 32 member countries discussed Black Sea security at its headquarters in Brussels.
"NATO has already strengthened our posture along the eastern flank, including with counter-drone capabilities," Ms. Hart wrote online. "We will continue to stand united and ensure that we are ready and able to address any threat and to keep our one billion people safe."
The announcement followed a statement by Bulgaria's Prime Minister Rumen Radev that a United States military aircraft had begun patrolling the Black Sea after Sofia appealed for help.
"An American P-8 Poseidon... has begun patrolling the Black Sea to conduct reconnaissance missions and detect any activity that could pose a risk," Mr. Radev said. He said several NATO countries responded quickly to his request, and that Bulgaria expects "further assistance".
NATO, Bulgaria and Romania have not officially blamed Moscow for the attacks, though suspicion has fallen on Russia. The alliance has not presented a formal attribution for the strikes.
The European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said on Tuesday that "six attacks in 10 days by suspected Russian drones marks a dangerous and unacceptable escalation". She accused the Kremlin of again stepping up efforts to disrupt Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea in an attempt to cut Kyiv off from revenue.
Ms. Kallas warned that the strikes were adding to a "perfect storm" facing global food supplies, already under strain from droughts in several regions and the war in West Asia.
The Black Sea shipping corridor is central to Ukraine's economy. The country is among the world's largest exporters of wheat, maize and sunflower oil, and disruption to its ports and shipping routes affects import-dependent countries far beyond Europe.
The attacks have deepened concern at NATO about what the alliance describes as increasingly reckless conduct by Moscow at a time when its forces remain bogged down in Ukraine. NATO and the EU say they are confronting a "hybrid" campaign of sabotage and interference by the Kremlin aimed at eroding Western support for Kyiv.
NATO has sought to signal to Russia to scale back such actions after high-profile incidents over the summer, including the discovery of an explosive-laden drone at a German airport.
Alliance officials say the additional sensors, patrol aircraft and shared data are intended to give commanders earlier warning of threats to shipping and to civilian infrastructure along the eastern flank. The measures announced on Tuesday fall short of a direct military response, and NATO has not said how long the deployment will last.
