Romanian "Orban" wants to annex Bukovyna and Snake Island

The more obvious the future collapse of Putin's Kremlin regime becomes, the more often the FSB "canned goods" explode in Europe. And it turns out that Moscow has been buying up the "extreme" ones, both left and right, almost wholesale, thus putting its eggs in different baskets of the political fringe.

In Hungary, for example, it has made more progress – but Prime Minister Viktor Orban belongs to the old generation of leaders, in fact, "dinosaurs"-Komsomol members, so his "sympathies" for the Kremlin are quite natural. At the turn of the 80s and 90s, the far-sighted Communist party of the so-called Eastern Bloc countries was changing sides frantically, anticipating the inevitability of change.

After all, the revanchist plans of the Hungarian leader fit into the general paradigm of the politics there, and have, so to speak, their "founding fathers" from the time of the Treaty of Trianon. It seems to me that it was revenge and hopes for a "Greater Hungary" that led to the Magyars' alliance with the Nazis, and they were not unique in this. Therefore, the systematic attacks of official Budapest against Ukrainian policy in Zakarpattia, in particular, should be seen as a continuation of a tradition that is far from European rules.

In Romania, which during World War II under the leadership of Ion Antonescu also became part of the "Hitler coalition," there are also still certain marginal circles dreaming of revanche for territorial losses after 1945. Today, Bucharest reported on the "initiative" of a well-known pro-Russian senator, Diana Iovanovici Șoșoacă, who submitted a draft law to the country's legislature that, if adopted, would effectively lead to the abolition of the Treaty on Good Neighborliness and Cooperation between Romania and Ukraine. The Șoșoacă’s bill demands that the treaty with Ukraine be terminated in 2027 "with at least a year's notice before the expiration date," as a result of which "Romania will annex the historical territories that it owned, respectively, Northern Bukovyna, Hertsa region, Bugeac (Cahul, Bolgrad, Izmail), historical Maramures and Snake Island.

“The Șoșoacă’s bill demands that the treaty with Ukraine be terminated in 2027 "with at least a year's notice before the expiration date," as a result of which "Romania will annex the historical territories that it owned, respectively, Northern Bukovina, Hertsa region, Bugeac (Cahul, Bolgrad, Izmail), historical Maramures and Snake Island.”

"With this law, we want to return cultural identity, traditions, customs and religion to the Romanian population, which is estimated at about one million, including mixed families," the Romanian senator said. She added that, "Ukraine has never respected the reciprocity between the rights granted to the Ukrainian minority in Romania and has barbarically tried to destroy the cultural and national identity of Romanians in Ukraine." Orban in a skirt – no more and no less...

Who is Diana Șoșoacă? A Serbian by birth, she is known for her far-right views, which, quite coincidentally, of course, fit into the context of the narratives of the "Russian world" in recent years. During the Covid era, the senator was among the activists of the anti-vaccination movement. In her rhetoric, she used painfully familiar slogans about quarantine warnings as "fascist acts" and "the biggest scam of the century." Șoșoacă staged provocative raids on hospitals and quarrelled with doctors, posting videos on her Facebook page. Doesn't this remind you of similar actions with Stakhiv (Ukrainian anti-vaxxer - ed.)? In Romania, the most active associates of the "fiery senator" at the time were former MP and owner of the FCSB football club George Becali, entrepreneur Luis Lazarus, and current MEP Cristian Terhes.

“Since the beginning of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Șoșoacă has been known to categorically deny Russian missile strikes on Kyiv. The most interesting thing is that it was at this time that the senator also made strange statements about "neutral" Romania, which was forced into NATO by "incompetents, plagiarists, thieves, robbers, cowards, traitors, mediocrities, awarded by foreign countries for special services...". Well, actually, Moscow demanded from the West to roll back the North Atlantic Alliance to the borders of 1997”

Since the beginning of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Șoșoacă has been known to categorically deny Russian missile strikes on Kyiv. The most interesting thing is that it was at this time that the senator also made strange statements about "neutral" Romania, which was forced into NATO by "incompetents, plagiarists, thieves, robbers, cowards, traitors, mediocrities, awarded by foreign countries for special services...". Well, actually, Moscow demanded from the West to roll back the North Atlantic Alliance to the borders of 1997. 

Fortunately, the official Bucharest demonstrates solidarity with Ukraine. In addition to providing important assistance and support to Ukrainian refugees, Romania has joined the anti-Putin coalition of European states. In particular, to the initiative of the Baltic States, Poland, and Slovakia to create a special center on Russian aggression.

But we have to remember well who among our friendly neighbors has at least hinted at a desire to take advantage of Putin's ephemeral victory. Because politics is a capricious thing. What if Șoșoacă and her followers are brought to the top of the Romanian government?

About the author. Ihor Hulyk is a journalist and editor-in-chief of the Espreso website. 

The editors do not always share the opinions expressed by the authors of the blogs.