Personnel at U.S. Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily, Italy, were under orders to shelter in place Wednesday morning due to an unspecified “ongoing situation” at the base. The U.S.-operated base is a key installation and logistics hub — home to some 7,000 troops and family members — for American and allied NATO operations in Europe.
In a series of repeated notices shared via the NAS Sigonella Facebook page, the U.S. military told all personnel on the NAS 2 part of the installation, where most operational work has taken place for years, to shelter in place and avoid travel between one of the base’s housing complexes and NAS 2. The notices said entry and exit through at least some of the NAS 2 gates had been “secured.”
CBS News was unable to reach Air Station Sigonella at a phone number provided for the base on Wednesday. Â
“Sigonella has grown to be the premier logistics base in the Mediterranean as it continues to be a vital component in supporting U.S. and NATO operations within the European theater,” according to the U.S. Navy, which says the station’s primary mission “is to provide consolidated operational, command and control, administrative, logistical and advanced logistical support to U.S. and other NATO forces.”
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The U.S.’ European NATO allies held a major military exercise last week in Romania, very near the country’s border with Ukraine, rehearsing for a hypothetical invasion of the alliance’s territory by Russia. The drill came almost exactly three years after Russia launched its ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, sparking a war that President Trump has said he can end through negotiations with Russia’s autocratic leader Vladimir Putin.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian officials told The Associated Press and other outlets that Kyiv had reached an agreement with the Trump administration on a framework for an economic deal that would include the U.S. gaining access to Ukraine’s mineral resources, including its rare earth elements. Ukraine has hoped to strike a deal with the U.S. to ensure a continued flow of military support and, if a ceasefire deal is reached with Russia, some form of future security guarantees should Russia try to attack again.