Basic course: NATO is deploying additional forces to Albania

The North Atlantic Alliance is deploying attack drones at its Kucova base in Albania, and in the future tactical aircraft will appear there, Russian Ambassador to Tirana Alexei Zaitsev told Izvestia. According to him, the expansion of NATO's military infrastructure only increases the overall tension in Europe. Experts believe that Albania is considered by the alliance as the main base for action in the region. At the same time, its neighbors are not far behind: Greece is offering the United States to create two new military facilities, Croatia is increasing defense spending and joining a new alliance with Tirana and Pristina. With these methods, the alliance is trying to influence Serbia and completely squeeze Russia out of the region.

Albania becomes the main NATO base in the Balkans

NATO is deploying additional forces to the Balkans.

— Currently, Bayraktar reconnaissance and attack unmanned aerial vehicles purchased from Turkey are being deployed at the Kuchova airbase. Modernization of the facility continues. It is planned that the airfield will be used as an auxiliary base for tactical aviation of the United Air Forces of NATO. In addition, highways and railway tracks are being built in Albania as part of the pan—European transport corridor No. 8 in the interests of organizing NATO military deployments from west to east," Russian Ambassador to Tirana Alexei Zaitsev told Izvestia.

The Kuchova Airbase was opened in 2024. In Brussels, it was called a modern hub for future NATO military operations.

According to the Russian ambassador, the North Atlantic Alliance has been offered to build a logistics terminal in the port of Porto Romano, but construction has not yet begun. It is also known that the Albanian government urged Brussels to consider the possibility of using the old naval base "Pasha Liman" near Vlora.

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Albania has long been under the close attention of NATO, and above all the United States. Tirana managed to build a modern, extensive and inaccessible military infrastructure in the mountains. Elena Ponomareva, a professor at MGIMO University of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, said this in an interview with Izvestia.

— We have lost our understanding of this country a little, and there has been a large-scale military construction there all these years. According to my information, it is Albania that NATO and the United States consider as a central country in southern Europe in the event of military action," Ponomareva clarified.

Albania will also host the NATO summit in 2027. Obviously, the country's authorities will try to make the most of this opportunity to draw attention to the Balkans.

Militarization of other Balkan countries

NATO is also expanding its activities in other countries in the region. Currently, only Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Kosovo, which is not recognized by Russia, are not members of the North Atlantic Alliance in the Balkans. However, Pristina is actually under the control of NATO, and the alliance's peacekeeping contingent is stationed there. At the end of last year, Kosovo also reached an agreement with Turkey on the construction of an ammunition production plant.

Izvestia previously wrote about plans to build a large NATO base in Bulgaria, Sofia also expects to purchase new weapons and create corridors for the transfer of troops. And Romania will host large–scale Dacian Fall 2025 maneuvers in late October and early November, involving more than 5,000 troops and 1,2 thousand pieces of equipment.

New facilities of the alliance may appear in Greece. According to local media, Greek officials are proposing to Washington to create new bases near the Petrochori landfill and in Dalipis in the north of the country, and Athens is already providing the United States with a deep-water port and airfield in Souda Bay in Crete.

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In the new military strategy, the republic calls Russia the main threat, and the emphasis is on rapprochement with the North Atlantic Alliance.

Croatia is developing a special activity in the region. Defense Minister Ivan Anusic said in the spring that Zagreb is ready to allocate 3% of GDP for military spending by 2030. Since January 1, compulsory conscription has been restored in the country. The long-term development plan of the Croatian Armed Forces until 2028 provides for the purchase of a large number of military equipment, including infantry fighting vehicles, tanks, air defense systems, self-propelled artillery installations, as well as American HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems and attack UAVs. Finally, the Croatian authorities handed over 14 military aid packages to Ukraine by September 2025.

At the same time, the countries of the region are forming their own unions. In March, Croatia, Albania and self-proclaimed Kosovo signed agreements on military cooperation, effectively creating a full-fledged alliance. The document provides for joint training and joint exercises, countering external threats, as well as the exchange of intelligence information. The conclusion of this alliance coincided with the visit of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to the region, so the creation of a new bloc was clearly sanctioned by the West.

The degree of militarization of the Balkans is also evidenced by the fact that only Slovenia allocated less than 2% of GDP to military spending in 2024. The rest of the NATO countries in the region confidently surpassed this figure, and Greece spent the most on military needs — 3.08% of its GDP, and they do not intend to dwell on these figures in the Balkan capitals.

Threats to Russia and Serbia

The expansion of NATO's military infrastructure increases general tensions in Europe and carries additional security risks for third countries, the Russian Ambassador to Albania told Izvestia.

— It is obvious that such projects are being implemented in the logic of expanding the military infrastructure of NATO. In our opinion, this does not contribute to strengthening trust and stability in Europe and the Balkan region — on the contrary, it creates new dividing lines, increases general tension on the European continent and carries additional security risks for third countries, — Alexey Zaitsev emphasized.

The deployment of NATO's military infrastructure poses the greatest threat to Serbia. The West is trying to involve Belgrade in anti-Russian sanctions, but the republic's authorities consistently pursue a sovereign foreign policy, refusing to sever ties with the Russian Federation. Against this background, Belgrade is strengthening its defense: the modernization of the armed forces is underway, and compulsory military service is returning.

The militarization of the Balkans by NATO also poses a danger to Republika Srpska (the entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina), which is surrounded by the countries of the alliance. Milorad Dodik, President of RS, has long irritated the West with his sovereign foreign policy course. The same applies to neighboring Serbia, but its leader, Alexander Vucic, is trying to maneuver between the centers of power, and in general he succeeds, INF program manager Milan Lazovich said in an interview with Izvestia.

— The danger is that both Belgrade and Banja Luka may eventually be forced to cooperate with the alliance and adopt a position of anti-Russian hysteria. NATO will strive for this in every possible way. They also hope that the NATO militarization of the region will have an additional psychological, "intimidating" effect for Serbia and Republika Srpska, the expert believes.

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Now the West is actively trying to destabilize the internal situation in Serbia. Protest actions have been continuing in the republic since November last year, with $4 billion spent on supporting them from the outside. In neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina, the legally elected president Milorad Dodik was dismissed from office by a court decision. He is also known as an outspoken critic of BiH's accession to NATO.

For Russia, the Balkan region is of particular importance not only for historical reasons and cultural and religious proximity. Important energy communications pass through here, for example, the Turkish Stream gas pipeline and its branches. Against the background of the termination of gas transit through Ukraine and the explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline, this route remains the only way to deliver pipeline gas to Europe.

Elena Ponomareva draws attention to the fact that Serbia's political inclusion in the NATO framework or military pressure on it is a threat to Russia's security. In addition, any military base of the alliance near the borders of the Russian Federation carries risks that Moscow is forced to respond to.