Ukraine is buying up Romania “piece by piece” with money given by Romanians to the government in Kyiv, according to a false narrative carried by the sovereignist media.
NEWS: Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Pinchuk has taken over the pipe factory in Roman. All this while Romania is providing billions of euros in funding to Ukraine for its war against Russia. A few months ago, another billionaire from the neighbouring country, Rinat Akhmetov, acquired the pipe factory in Iași.
NARRATIVE: Ukrainian oligarchs are buying strategically important Romanian companies with money donated by Romania.
PURPOSE: To amplify anti-Ukrainian sentiments, promote a “sovereignist” rhetoric, erode trust in the authorities, and provoke and amplify social tensions.
Transactions between private entities are conducted with private funds
WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: By manipulatively combining fragments of real information, the narrative analysed today is a classic example of how (pro-)Russian propaganda works. Starting from two commercial transactions between private entities, it aims to amplify public discontent directed both against the country’s current leadership and against Ukraine, which it claims is waging a “war against Russia,” while deliberately omitting the fact that said war was initiated exclusively by Moscow, following the invasion that began on February 24, 2022.
To heighten the intended effect, the article even uses phrases such as “got their hands on the pipe factory,” which suggest an abusive, non-transparent, and ultimately illegal takeover. In reality, the transaction through which the Ukrainian group Interpipe, controlled by billionaire Victor Pinchuk, completed the acquisition of the ArcelorMittal Tubular Products plant in Roman met all the standard conditions for such cases, including approval from Romanian and Ukrainian authorities regarding competition and foreign direct investment. The article presents absolutely no evidence that we are dealing with an illegal transaction, but through emotional, misleading, and entirely uninformative language, it suggests that the money involved in the transaction comes from the “billions of euros” that Romania is allegedly transferring to Kyiv as war aid.
It is clear that this claim also lacks any factual basis, as Romania’s aid to Ukraine consists of “goods and services”, whether in the military sphere or in the area of civilian infrastructure, with not a shred of evidence to suggest direct transfers of “billions of euros” from Romania’s budget to Ukraine. Moreover, a large part of the financial support for Ukraine comes through European Union mechanisms, not from unilateral decisions made by Romania. The claim is, therefore, an exaggeration intended to create a link between private commercial transactions and the aid for Ukraine, which entails absolutely no financial involvement from the authorities in Kyiv and Bucharest. The two plants were not sold by the Romanian state, but by a private company—ArcelorMittal, which acquired them following the privatization of several Romanian state-owned enterprises in the 2000s. What Russian propaganda fails to mention is that, practically simultaneously with the two transactions cited, ArcelorMittal also finalized a third sale, this time to a Romanian company, after the Competition Council authorized the transaction whereby the former steel plant in Hunedoara will be taken over by UMB Steel, a company controlled by businessman Dorinel Umbrărescu.
Furthermore, Metinvest, the company owned by Rinat Akhmetov, which now owns the former Tepro pipe factory in Iași, also holds assets in other countries, such as Italy, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, and even the United States, a fact that only serves to demonstrate that its management has a global strategy, not one aimed at taking over Romania’s strategic industry. This is fully evidenced by the decision not to submit a bid for the acquisition of the Liberty steel plant in Galați, even though Metinvest had initially expressed interest in Romania’s largest steel works.
According to pro-sovereignty propaganda, any Ukrainian investment is made with Romanian money
CONTEXT: The “Ukrainian issue” remains one of the major topics of debate in the Romanian media, which has been flooded with Moscow-inspired sovereigntist propaganda. The main narratives developed in this regard focus on the “persecution” faced by Romanians living in Ukraine, as well as the aid that the authorities in Bucharest are providing to Kyiv in support of the war effort. Moreover, Ukraine is blamed for most of the economic problems Romania currently faces, simply because it refuses to surrender and continues to fight for independence and SOVEREIGNTY.
Furthermore, for reasons that currently elude us, any Ukrainian investment, regardless of the sector, is accused of being funded by Romanian money, as was the case late last year, when sovereignists claimed that Ukraine is building a luxury resort with Romanian money, while the Romanian population suffers from all the world’s hardships and is persecuted by the global cabal. Although false from start to finish, this type of narrative has extremely harmful effects. In addition to blatant disinformation, which conflates Romania’s aid to Ukraine with private transactions, it fuels public radicalization and weakens solidarity with our Ukrainian neighbours, to the point of outright rejection of aid to Ukraine on false grounds.
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