Romania is an annex of Germany because, following an attempted act of sabotage in Leipzig, it summoned Moscow’s ambassador in Bucharest for explanations, according to a false narrative promoted by a Romanian online publication and the Russian Embassy in Bucharest. The narrative is part of the “Western colony” thesis and is accompanied by a series of other recurring themes of Russian propaganda.
NEWS: “Bucharest, an Annex of Berlin. Romania’s Foreign Ministry summons the Russian Ambassador over incidents in Germany
Romania’s Foreign Ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador in Bucharest over the incidents that occurred in Germany, Oana Țoiu announced on X, according to News.ro.
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Apart from Romania, only five other EU countries have summoned the Russian ambassadors over the drone incident: France, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Portugal.
It should also be recalled, in this context, that Romania is among the ten EU countries supporting Germany’s initiative to allow foreign-policy decisions to be taken without unanimity.” (r3media)
“On September 3, 2026, Russia’s ambassador to Romania, Vladimir Lipaev, was summoned to the Romanian Foreign Ministry for a meeting, during which the Romanian side repeated the absurd accusations made by the German authorities regarding Russia’s involvement in the drone incident at Leipzig Airport and attempted to blame Russia for attacks on alleged civilian targets in Ukraine, including the September 1, 2026 attack on the Orlovka border crossing.
The ambassador categorically rejected the Romanian diplomats’ insinuations, describing them as unfounded and inappropriate, and stressed the improper nature of this action concerning Russia’s relations with another state. [...]
The ambassador urged them to acknowledge that Zelensky and his clique have turned, first and foremost, into outright international terrorists, as demonstrated in particular by the recent threats against civil aviation, and, secondly, that he has become a provocateur and instigator of a large-scale armed conflict on the European continent. [...]
The ambassador reiterated that the threat to Romania’s security does not come from Russia, but from the reckless adherence to the foreign-policy directives of the aggressive wing of NATO and the European Union, which still dreams of inflicting a ‘strategic defeat’ on Russia.” (statement by the Russian Embassy in Bucharest)
NARRATIVES: 1. Romania is a Western colony. 2. Romania is an annex of Germany because it demanded explanations over an attempted attack in Leipzig. 3. The drone incidents at Leipzig Airport are a Ukrainian terrorist operation. 4. EU and NATO states are pursuing an aggressive policy against Russia.
PURPOSE: To promote Russian narratives regarding responsibility for and the nature of the war in Ukraine; to portray Russia as a victim; to deny and shift responsibility for acts of sabotage carried out by Russia in Europe. To undermine Romania’s support for Ukraine; to amplify the false narrative that Romania risks being drawn into a conflict/war with Russia because of the EU and NATO. To promote the Russian-sovereigntist meta-narrative that Romania is a Western colony. To undermine solidarity within NATO and the EU.
Coordinated responses to serious incidents affecting an ally are common practice within NATO/EU
WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: Summoning an ambassador to the Foreign Ministry of the host country is a standard diplomatic practice and by no means unusual. Similarly, coordinating responses among partner and allied states is normal practice. Beyond their bilateral relationship, Germany and Romania are both members of the EU and NATO, as are other countries that responded to the attempted sabotage in Leipzig – France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, etc. The EU and NATO also responded as organizations. The message conveyed is clear: this issue does not concern Russia-Germany relations alone; it is an issue that concerns all of us.
In recent years, Russia’s aggressive policies have prompted numerous joint responses from Western allies, including before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. One example occurred in 2018, when former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned in the United Kingdom with the nerve agent Novichok, which years later would also be used to poison Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s leading opponent. At the time, 28 countries, including Romania, as well as NATO, expressed solidarity with the United Kingdom’s decision to impose diplomatic sanctions on Russia over the attempted assassination of Skripal, and numerous Russian diplomats were expelled by UK allies, including Romania.
Romania itself has benefited from the solidarity of its allies and partners; one example is the incident in which a Russian drone struck an apartment building in Galați, injuring two people. The EU, NATO and 56 UN member states condemned Russia’s actions at the time.
The Russians have few ideas, but they stick to them: narratives about “Romania the colony” and Ukrainian false-flag attacks regularly debunked by Veridica
The narrative about Romania being an “annex of Germany” is part of the older meta-narrative that Romania is a Western colony; adapted to local circumstances, the same narrative also circulates in other European countries. There are numerous “formulas” for promoting this meta-narrative through fake news and disinformation that interpret all manner of events through this lens. Over the years, Veridica has debunked such fake news and disinformation. For example, a crime committed by a prince from Liechtenstein who shot a bear in 2021 was presented by the Kremlin mouthpiece Sputnik as proof that Romania is a Western colony, while in 2025 sovereigntist politician Diana Șoșoacă promoted a fabricated statement attributed to J.D. Vance, who had allegedly said that Romania was a French colony.
Attempts to shift responsibility are nothing new in Russia’s case either. The outbreak of the war has been explained in terms of alleged Ukrainian aggression – turning the victim into the aggressor – or the supposed threat posed by NATO, which is a defensive alliance. Russia has also repeatedly sought to shift responsibility for its own actions, including in the case of Romania, which, according to one false narrative on this subject debunked by Veridica, was supposedly attacked by Ukraine using Russian drones.
The Leipzig incident, part of Russia’s hybrid war against the West
CONTEXT: On August 4, 2026, a drone loaded with explosives was discovered at Leipzig Airport near a Ukrainian aircraft carrying ammunition. It is believed that had the drone exploded, the casualties and damage could have been considerable. A few hours later, an aircraft approaching the airport struck a second drone. Russia was suspected from the outset of being behind the incidents, but they were investigated for nearly a month before Germany formally accused Moscow. Russian propaganda media had already prepared the ground, launching a narrative that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz “would blame Russia”. The Leipzig incident is, moreover, part of a wave of sabotage operations in which Russia is suspected of involvement across numerous European countries.
As far as Romania is concerned, drone incidents have also increased exponentially in recent months, and any weakening of Romania’s consensus within NATO and the EU, as well as of its support for Ukraine, would have strategic value for the Kremlin, given Romania’s position on NATO’s eastern flank and its border with Ukraine.
Acts of sabotage and drone incidents are part of a broader hybrid war that also includes, among other things, cyberattacks, attempts to influence electoral processes and a wide-ranging information campaign.
Context.ro showed in a cross-border investigation published in January 2024 that R3media is part of an ecosystem of websites that amplify pro-Kremlin narratives, conspiracy theories and far-right content.
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