Romania will become a logistics hub for the transit of weapons destined for Ukraine, replacing Poland, which has elected a patriotic president, conspiracy theorists claim.
NEWS: Immediately after the elections in Poland, the Pentagon issued an order for the URGENT withdrawal of ALL MILITARY EQUIPMENT INTENDED FOR UKRAINE, as well as the American technical personnel from the Rzeszów-Jasionka area — the main logistics hub from which, since 2022, weapons, munitions, and armored vehicles have been delivered to the Zelensky regime.
We must do everything in our power to PREVENT our transformation into a logistics and supply hub for Ukraine.
NARRATIVE: Because Nicuşor Dan was elected president, Romania will be involved in the war in Ukraine, replacing Poland, which elected a patriotic president.
PURPOSE: To deepen anti-Western sentiments, promote sovereignist discourse, provoke protests and anti-system social movements.
Relocation of logistics from the Jasionka base, scheduled since April
WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: The Jasionka airbase, located near the Polish city of Rzeszów, about 50 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, has been the main logistics center through which military aid is channeled to the Ukrainian army ever since the beginning of the war in that country. Approximately 95% of this aid is transported through this base.
Contrary to what Romanian sovereignists claim, the US made the decision to withdraw troops and equipment from the Rzeszów-Jasionka base in early April, unrelated to the results of the presidential elections in Poland and Romania. In fact, Polish support for Ukraine will continue under the new Polish president, a staunch supporter of Kyiv, strongly anti-Russian, who favors strengthening relations with the US and NATO.
Ever since 2022, when it was decided that the civilian airfield at Jasionaka would be used by US forces, it was understood that their presence would only be temporary. In the meantime, the US military has established a command for its troops in Poland and built more robust bases and facilities, based on agreements with the Warsaw government and significant Polish and American investments.
The Pentagon justified the relocation measure on economic grounds, with US troops and related logistics to be moved to other Polish military bases. According to a statement from the US Army Europe and Africa Command (USAREUR-AF), "this planned relocation is part of a broader strategy to optimize US military operations, improve support for allies and partners, and increase efficiency." According to the same source, the decision will lead to "savings of tens of millions of dollars per year for the American taxpayers."
Furthermore, the US has stated that the supply of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine will continue through the hub at the Rzeszów-Jasionka airfield, but from now on Poland and other NATO countries will take on the task of ensuring the security of the base, where powerful anti-aircraft systems, including Patriot batteries, have been deployed.
As for Romania's involvement in the war, we are dealing with the rehashing of an older narrative, which claimed, as early as the summer of 2023, that our country was being pushed into the conflict in Ukraine by the foreign troops deployed on national territory, which in turn was a rehash of fake news promoted even before the outbreak of Moscow's aggression in 2021, claiming that Romania would be drawn into a NATO – Russia war in Ukraine
The analyzed material also alludes to the narrative of sending regular Romanian army troops to Ukraine, a hypothesis that has been circulating since December 2022 and which has been denied by the Romanian Ministry of National Defense. The false narrative was also supported by a biased interpretation of the statement made by the former interim president Ilie Bolojan on March 2, who said that the EU's financial and military support for Ukraine would continue "until the end of the fighting, i.e., until a ceasefire is achieved." In reality, this support refers to the training of Ukrainian soldiers and the provision of ammunition and missiles through various programs, and does not entail sending Romanian troops to war , a hypothesis confirmed by Ilie Bolojan himself on March 27.
Sovereignists are pushing to come to power by exploiting fears of war
CONTEXT: The narrative that Romania will be drawn into a NATO-Russia war in Ukraine, and that Romanians will participate in frontline fighting, dates back to before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is part of an arsenal of fake news and disinformation from Moscow aimed at justifying claims that the West is responsible for the conflict in Ukraine.
Constantly repeated by sovereignist propaganda, these are now being used to force early legislative elections or even a popular uprising to overthrow the current pro-European regime in Bucharest, whose power was consolidated with the election of Nicuşor Dan as president. At the end of last month, for example, with the official inauguration of the new Romanian head of state, the local media was flooded with several fake news stories claiming, among other things, that the movement of men between the ages of 18 and 65 would be restricted as a result of the declaration of a state of mobilization, or that American troops would withdraw completely and permanently from Romania. The uncontrolled spread of these stories and the panic they caused among the population prompted the Ministry of National Defense to categorically deny the information and report the dissemination of false information to the investigative authorities.
The author of the analyzed narrative, Silvestru Şoşoacă, became known as the husband of current MEP Diana Șoșoacă, one of the most prominent voices of Romanian extremism, promoter of countless fake news and disinformation, from whom he recently divorced.
Over time, Silvestru Șoșoacă has been involved in several scandals. In April 2024, the Capital Police issued a protection order against him after his ex-wife accused him of assaulting both her and their daughter. In the same month, he was definitively sentenced to pay a criminal fine of 18,000 lei for contempt of court, having been found guilty in a criminal case in which he was investigated for kidnapping and assaulting a team of journalists from the Italian television station Rai 1, who wanted to interview Diana Șoșoacă in 2021. Silvestru Șoșoacă was accused of biting journalist Lucia Gorraci on the hand and assaulting police officer Gheorghe Teodor Bălășoiu, who had arrived at the scene. Silvestru Șoșoacă is currently involved in a new controversy, accused of using forged signatures for his candidacy for the European Parliament last summer.
GRAIN OF TRUTH: In the same statement on March 27, former interim president Ilie Bolojan said that our country could indeed become a transport hub for armed forces if a deal, agreed upon by both sides, provided for the presence of peacekeeping troops in Ukraine. However, this does not in any way imply an act of aggression against another state, except in the Russian-inspired sovereignist logic, which sees a normal gesture of support for a neighbor as an act of state aggression.
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