Romanian authorities plan to conduct a controlled sinking of four barges loaded with rocks in the Bala branch of the Danube to redirect more water to the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant and prevent the shutdown of its only operating reactor unit.
The operation is scheduled to begin on August 5 after 2:00 p.m. The barges are intended to form a temporary underwater dam and divert part of the flow from the Bala branch to the Old Danube, from where water enters the nuclear power plant’s cooling system. Authorities expect to raise the water level near the plant by 10–12 cm.
Currently, only Power Unit No. 2 is operating at “Cernavodă.” The first of the two reactors was shut down last week due to critically low water levels in the Danube. Under normal conditions, the plant’s two units account for about one-fifth of Romania’s electricity production.
Before flooding the barges, the Romanian military carried out a controlled demolition of part of the Pirjoaia underwater rock formation, which had been hindering the redistribution of the river’s flow. Following this intervention, the drop in water levels near the plant temporarily ceased. Previously, the Danube’s water level in this area had been falling by approximately 2–3 cm per day.
As of the morning of August 5, the water flow at the Danube’s entry into Romania was approximately 1,450 cubic meters per second. By August 7, this figure could drop to 1,400 cubic meters per second—nearly one-third of the long-term average for August, which stands at 3,900 cubic meters.
As early as August 1, representatives of the National Administration “Waters of Romania” warned that without emergency measures, the second power unit would be able to operate at its maximum capacity for only four to five days. If the water level drops below operational thresholds, the reactor will be shut down in a controlled manner in accordance with safety procedures.
At the same time, dredging operations are continuing in the Old Danube–Bala Branch section. Specialists must remove some of the debris left over from the explosion and secure the submerged barges, as the current could displace them and reduce the effectiveness of the temporary dam.
Romania has declared a state of energy readiness for August. Due to reduced output at nuclear power plants and other power stations, the country has increased electricity imports and called on businesses, government agencies, and the public to reduce consumption during peak-load hours.
The critically low water level of the Danube is causing problems not only for Romania. The Paks Nuclear Power Plant in Hungary has also sharply reduced production: three of the four turbines were shut down, and the remaining one was operating at only a fraction of its capacity.
Romania’s Nuclearelectrica plans to use electricity imported from Ukraine to cover the shortfall caused by the shutdown of the first power unit at the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant and, accordingly, to mitigate the impact of this shortfall on the Romanian electricity market, the company announced on Facebook on Monday.
“Nuclearelectrica is purchasing electricity from Ukraine; this purchase is being carried out with the support of Energocom, an electricity supplier from the Republic of Moldova,” Nuclearelectrica noted.
According to the company, the energy situation in Romania has been complicated by a severe drought and falling water levels in rivers, particularly the Danube. The first power unit at the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant was shut down as scheduled a week ago.
In addition, as Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar previously reported, due to record-low water levels in the Danube, Hungary will be forced to completely shut down the country’s only nuclear power plant—Paks—for the first time in the plant’s 44-year history. The shutdown, he said, could last several weeks.
The Paks Nuclear Power Plant generates nearly half of all of Hungary’s electricity—its shutdown could lead to a serious power shortage.
As previously reported, between July 20 and 26, Hungary remained the primary destination for Ukrainian electricity exports, with 22,500 MWh (40% of total exports) supplied there.
Exports to Moldova totaled 19,600 MWh (34.8%), and to Romania, 11,100 MWh (19.7%).
Overall, Ukraine maintained its status as a net exporter of electricity for three consecutive weeks from July 6 to July 26; specifically, from July 20 to July 26, the volume of Ukrainian electricity exports exceeded imports by 70%.
Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey have agreed to expand the mission of the joint Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Task Group by adding the protection of critical infrastructure to its mandate.
The agreement was reached during the NATO summit in Ankara. This involves expanding the authority of the Mine Countermeasures Black Sea Task Group, which had previously focused primarily on locating and neutralizing mines in the Black Sea.
According to Reuters, the new mandate calls for the protection of energy and telecommunications facilities and undersea pipelines owned or operated by the three countries.
The Romanian Ministry of Defense stated that protecting critical infrastructure in the Black Sea requires a comprehensive, integrated, and long-term approach. The ministry also noted that a memorandum establishing the mine countermeasures security group was signed on January 11, 2024, by the defense ministers of Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey.
The joint group became the first trilateral initiative of its kind among the three NATO countries with access to the Black Sea. Its initial task was to improve the safety of navigation following the appearance of drifting mines in the sea as a result of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
According to Reuters, the group has already neutralized more than 150 mines since its creation. The expansion of its mandate reflects growing concerns among countries in the region regarding the security of maritime infrastructure, particularly against the backdrop of developing gas projects in the Black Sea.
For Ukraine, this decision is of direct importance, as Black Sea security affects shipping, export routes, energy infrastructure, and the overall naval situation in the region. Stronger coordination between Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey also signals greater NATO focus on the Black Sea region.
BLACK SEA, BULGARIA, DEFENSE, INFRASTRUCTURE, ROMANIA, TURKEY
Nearly 2,500 Ukrainian citizens were detected by Romanian border guards while illegally crossing the border from Ukraine into Romania in the first half of 2026, according to the Romanian Border Police.
According to the Territorial Inspectorate of the Border Police in Sighetu Marmației, between January 1 and June 30, 2026, approximately 1,200 Ukrainians were detected in Maramureș County, about 1,000 in Suceava County, and more than 300 along the section of the border between Satu Mare County and Ukraine.
Compared to the same period in 2025, the number of such cases decreased by approximately 33%. At that time, Romanian border guards detected more than 3,700 Ukrainian citizens who had crossed the border illegally.
The Romanian Border Police note that most of those detained claim they left Ukraine because of the war and are applying to the Romanian authorities for one of the forms of protection provided for under the country’s legislation.
The most dangerous routes remain the Tisa River and the mountainous regions of Maramureș. According to Romanian authorities, the challenging terrain, unpredictable weather, and lack of proper equipment make such crossings life-threatening.
During the first six months of 2026, Romanian border guards, in collaboration with the Salvamont Maramureș mountain rescue team, conducted 22 search-and-rescue operations, during which 38 Ukrainian citizens who found themselves in distress in the mountainous border area were rescued.
Since the start of the full-scale war, the Inspectorate in Sighetu Marmației has identified more than 34,000 Ukrainian citizens along Romania’s northern border. During this period, border guards, together with rescue teams, conducted more than 230 search-and-rescue operations in the Maramureș Mountains and rescued more than 430 Ukrainians.
The Romanian side emphasizes that it continues to secure the 366 km of the Romanian-Ukrainian border within the Inspectorate’s area of responsibility, using modern surveillance equipment and in coordination with other units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and institutional partners.
Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania are promoting the construction of the “Black Sea–Aegean Sea” multimodal transport corridor, which is intended to connect the ports, railways, highways, and logistics hubs of the three countries with access to the Ukrainian and Moldovan borders.
The project will become part of the EU’s Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). The European Commission notes that the broader “Baltic Sea–Black Sea–Aegean Sea” corridor spans 11 EU countries, as well as Ukraine and Moldova, connecting the Baltic, Black, and Aegean Seas.
The new section between Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania will consist of three main branches. The western branch is planned to run along the route Athens–Thessaloniki–Promachonas–Kulata–Sofia–Vidin/Calafat–Craiova–Bucharest. The central branch will connect Thessaloniki and Alexandroupolis with the Bulgarian cities of Svilengrad and Ruse, then continue through Giurgiu and Bucharest to
Siret on the Romanian border with Ukraine, as well as to Ungheni on the border with Moldova. The Eastern Branch will connect Alexandroupolis with the Bulgarian ports of Burgas and Varna, and then on to Constanța in Romania.
To coordinate the project, the three countries are establishing the Black Sea–Aegean Sea Corridor Platform (BACP). The European Commission reported that Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania signed a memorandum on the development of transport infrastructure on December 3, 2025, in Brussels. The document provides for coordination at the political and technical levels, the exchange of data on national investment plans, and the joint promotion of priority TEN-T projects.
European Commissioner for Transport Apostolos Tzitzikostas called the project a step toward strengthening the strategic north-south corridor in Southeast Europe. According to him, closer cooperation between Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania should strengthen ties for citizens and businesses, as well as enhance Europe’s security, competitiveness, and resilience in the Aegean, Black Sea, and Danube regions.
The project’s significance for the region goes beyond mere transportation modernization. The corridor could provide Ukraine with an additional southern logistics route to ports in the Aegean Sea, Bulgaria, and Romania, as well as strengthen the role of Constanța, Burgas, Varna, Alexandroupoli, and Thessaloniki as hubs for trade, agricultural exports, industrial cargo, and container transport.
For the Balkans, this also represents an opportunity to reduce dependence on overburdened or vulnerable routes. Since the outbreak of full-scale war against Ukraine, the importance of alternative routes via the Danube, the Black Sea, Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece has risen sharply. The central branch to Siret could effectively become an extension of Ukrainian logistics routes to southern Europe.
The project is also important for the military and crisis mobility of the EU and NATO, but its civilian economic value is no less significant. This involves faster transport between the three seas, better connections between ports and railways, reduced logistics costs, and the creation of a sustainable infrastructure for trade between Ukraine, Moldova, the Balkans, Central Europe, and the Mediterranean.
For Ukraine, this represents a potential new route to the Mediterranean; for Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece, it means strengthening their roles as transit countries; and for the entire region, it is a step toward more sustainable logistics between the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the Danube, and the Aegean Sea.
Aegean Sea, BACP, BLACK SEA, BULGARIA, GREECE, INFRASTRUCTURE, LOGISTICS, ROMANIA, TEN-T, UKRAINE
On June 29 and 30, Romania will temporarily restrict the movement of trucks weighing more than 7.5 metric tons on a number of roads due to a severe heat wave, according to Romania’s National Road Infrastructure Management Company (CNAIR).
The restrictions will be in effect on Monday and Tuesday from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on sections of national roads, expressways, and highways in 35 counties across the country, including Suceava, where border crossing points with Ukraine are located.
As a result, temporary restrictions on freight traffic may be imposed at the Ukrainian-Romanian border through the “Krasnoilsk–Vicovu de Sus” and “Porubne–Siret” border crossing points. According to preliminary information, the restrictions will apply to trucks, including those traveling without cargo.
The Romanian side explains this decision by the need to protect the road surface from damage under conditions of extremely high temperatures. During intense heat, heavy vehicle traffic can deform the asphalt, especially during the daytime hours when temperatures are at their highest.
The duration of the ban may be adjusted depending on weather conditions and decisions by Romanian authorities. Carriers planning to cross the border through the Chernivtsi region are advised to factor in possible delays in advance and monitor announcements from border and road authorities.
