Tucked away in the Danube Delta in eastern Romania, Chilia Veche likely offers NATO's best view of the Russian threat. The small Romanian village sits just 300 meters from the river port of Kilia, its Ukrainian homophone on the other side of the river that marks the border between the two countries. Although most of Chilia Veche's 1,700 inhabitants have never set foot in Ukraine – due to the lack of an official crossing point in the vicinity – they regularly hear the warning sirens that herald airstrikes. From the small Romanian fishing port, which was recently renovated with European funds, the wreckage of oil depots destroyed by Russia in September 2023 are visible to the naked eye.

At the time of the bombing, the blast from the explosions swept across the Danube and blew out several windows on the Romanian side. Adding to the war-torn landscape, Russian drones, after being disoriented or damaged by Ukrainian defense fire, have crashed in the surrounding countryside at regular intervals. Fortunately, they have, so far, caused only minor damage on the Romanian side of the river, but this has been enough to scare away tourists and frighten the village's residents.

"I'm very scared, especially when my husband goes fishing for a whole week and I hear the bombing at night, all alone," said Anisoara Maslincov. Her scarf framed her face as she spoke at the small blue and yellow church of the Lipovans, a Russian-speaking minority population in the Danube Delta area who practice traditional forms of Russian Orthodox Christianity.

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