New Strategy Center issues together with the American think tank Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) a new study called “The Strategic Importance of Snake Island”. It will be launched at the CEPA Forum, which takes place in Washington, D.C., USA, between September 27-29. It is the first study carried out by a Romanian and an American think tank after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on February 24th of this year. The study tackles a topic of vital interest for Ukraine, Romania and NATO, for freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and at the mouths of the Danube, and for the energy security of the region.
“The Strategic Importance of Snake Island” is the product of the collaboration between CEPA and the New Strategy Center, written by both Romanian and American authors. Being an analysis of the strategic importance of Snake Island in several areas and of the impact that Russia’s presence in the area has on the region, the work benefited from the expertise of Antonia Colibășanu, Senior Associate Expert within the New Strategy Center, geopolitical analyst and operational director of Geopolitical Futures, and George Scutaru, CEO of the New Strategy Center, former National Security Advisor to the President of Romania, as well as Joel Hickman, Deputy Director of CEPA’s Transatlantic Defense and Security Program, and Glenn Alexander Crowther, Associate Expert of CEPA.
With a size of only 17 hectares, the Snake Island nevertheless has a significant geostrategic importance. Control of the island and surrounding waters affects all shipping routes connecting Ukraine to the rest of the world, as well as those connecting mainland Europe to the Black Sea basin via the Danube River. The naval blockade imposed by Moscow on Ukraine was supported by the Russian military presence on Snake Island and the naval presence in its vicinity, contributing to a good extent to the suppression of Ukrainian exports.
Keeping the island under Ukrainian control is essential for maintaining the global grain supply, for Romania’s efforts to exploit the energy reserves in the surrounding waters and for strengthening regional security. Moreover, as the authors in this study point out, NATO Allies should continue to support Ukraine to strengthen its coastal defenses with anti-ship missiles, anti-aircraft systems and integrated command and control systems to prevent a new invasion of the island by Russian forces.
“The Strategic Importance of Snake Island” is a plea for supporting Ukraine, for the more substantial involvement of the USA and NATO in supporting Romania in the naval field and for promoting the interests of the North Atlantic Alliance in the Black Sea. This paper is part of the New Strategy Center’s efforts to contribute to a better understanding of the regional strategic context and to promote Romania’s security interests and the strategic partnership between Romania and the US.
New Strategy Center expresses its deep gratitude for Leviatan’s support for this project.
The study can be accessed on the New Strategy Center website at: The Strategic Importance of Snake Island and the conference program ia available at: https://cepa.org/event/cepa-forum/
Also, on the first day of the forum, a podcast dedicated to the strategic importance of Snake Island was presented and it is available below: