and Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Porter arrived at the Black Sea port of Constanta in Romania after visiting Batumi The US warships were operating with NATO allies and partners in the Black Sea, according to the US European Command and their deployment followed soon after US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited the region In a meeting with Russian military leadership, President Vladimir Putin seemed to threaten the US warships saying Russian forces "can catch a glimpse" of USS Mount Whitney "through binoculars or through the crosshairs of matching defense systems." connecting the Caucasus with Europe along Russia's southwestern flank It contains some of Russia's only warm-water ports and provides Russia access to the Mediterranean and the waters beyond Those tests include close encounters with NATO forces at sea and in the air as well as attacks on Ukraine and Georgia, which are NATO partners seeking full membership Russia's Black Sea Fleet fell into obsolescence With Russia's 2008 military reforms and its 2011-2020 State Armament Program, the Black Sea Fleet became a lighter, more agile force able to operate in near-shore areas and surrounding waters Those ships are supported by a host of smaller and auxiliary vessels including six guided-missile corvettes and five missile boats underlining the fleet's littoral capabilities The fleet is complemented by the newly formed 22nd Army Corps one air-defense and two aviation divisions based in Crimea and one air-defense division based in Rostov-on-Don which have a maximum range of approximately 1,200 miles NATO's Black Sea members and partners are at a military disadvantage when compared to Russia Ukraine is rebuilding its naval force after the loss of Crimea those countries would likely seek outside help but there are limits on what outside countries can do The Montreux Convention of 1936 restricts what kind of ships and how many ships non-Black Sea countries can send into the sea and Turkey must be given advanced warning of any transit into or out of the sea Those limits benefit Russia and hinder what the US can do. Only three of the US Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are allowed to be in the Black Sea at one time. But an Arleigh Burke is a powerful platform. Each can carry 56 Tomahawk missiles which have roughly the same range as the Kalibr While two Arleigh Burkes could match the Black Sea Fleet's Kalibr complement are working to improve their ability to counter Russia navigating the region's geographic and political constraints to do so saying its presence there demonstrates "continued commitment to collective defense of the European region and reinforces the strength of the NATO alliance." Constantine Atlamazoglou works on transatlantic and European security He holds a master's degree on security studies and European affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy All images courtesy of the National Bank of Romania Romania’s central bank unveiled a new bank note on Nov the first woman to be depicted on Romanian money who is a real person rather than an allegory The 20-lei note is the equivalent of $4.56 and went into circulation on Dec A news release issued by the bank characterized the choice of subject as a response to “the legitimate public interest which has been largely supported by the society and helps strengthen gender equality and the major role of female personalities in Romanian history and society.” It is printed on a polymer substrate with a mix of flat and intaglio printing measures 136 by 77 millimeters in size and is colored olive green The face is dominated by the portrait of Teodoroiu the central area features a badge of the Romanian Scouts The face also includes the denomination value in figures and letters a stylized version of the infantry insignia The back has the winged figure of Victory as on the Victory Medal standing in front of the Marasesti Mausoleum a memorial site holding the remains of 5,073 Romanian soldiers and officers killed in World War I A biography in The Female Soldier says Teodoroiu served as a nurse with the scouts at the start of World War I but decided to enlist as a soldier after the death of her brother in combat promoted to second lieutenant and given command of a 25-man platoon the war’s final battle between Romania and Germany She was hit in the chest by a burst of machine gun fire as she led her platoon against a unit of entrenched Germans Her last words as she died were “Forward 1 a polymer replica of the first 20-lei bank note issued by the National Bank of Romania in 1881 The cobalt blue note has some features that would not have existed on the original the left one showing the face value “20,” and the right one with the head of the Roman Emperor Trajan wearing a laurel wreath Both have two-color luminescence in sepia and green Also visible only under UV light are the years “1881–2021” printed in the center of the obverse with white luminescence; the bank logo with red luminescence; and in black ink with green luminescence the eight-digit serial number in the center World Coins Paper Money Mega Image has opened three new stores in Bucharest and Ilfov: in Berceni and in Marasesti on January 16 and a Shop&Go in Apusului on January 26 Mega Image Marasesti was reopened after a building restoration after the promulgation of law 282/2015 that stipulated the forbiddance of activity development in buildings with high earthquake risk Founded in 1995, Mega Image is one of the biggest supermarkets chain in Romania, with a network of 599 stores in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Constanta, Ploiesti, Brasov, Targoviste and other cities in Romania, under the brands Mega Image, Shop&Go, Gusturi Romanesti. 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