EXCLUSIVE Romania, in the vision of the press from Russia: The top topics from the last two weeks. Dungaciu, "the icon" of the Russian media

Romania has appeared in the Russian press over the last two weeks primarily through the lens of the crisis of Western support for Ukraine. The dominant theme is the statement of a leader of the Romanian opposition, Dan Dungaciu, regarding Bucharest's inability to continue financing Kyiv, picked up by publications such as RIA Novosti, Vesti.ru, RT, Magnific, Rambler, and Lenta. Secondarily, Romania has also been mentioned in connection with the drought on the Danube and the regional energy crisis, with the diplomatic incident related to the expulsion of an employee of the Russian embassy, and through a reference to the cancellation of the presidential elections in 2024, used by a French politician as an argument in the internal debate in France. The data was collected by the media monitoring platform NewsVibe, during the period from July 25 to August 7, 2026. The report identified 1,205 articles published in the Russian press during this period.

Dan Dungaciu's statements about the impossibility of financially supporting Ukraine

By far the most disseminated subject was Dan Dungaciu's intervention, presented as the vice president of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), for Digi24 television. The material was picked up, practically identically, by RIA Novosti, Vesti.ru, RT, Magnific, Rambler, and Lenta, with particularly high visibility compared to the rest of the news about Romania during the same period.

The central quote, reported by several publications, is: "Considering the deficit and the economic problems Romania is facing, we cannot assume economic and financial support for Ukraine." Vesti.ru added a nuanced remark and RT: Dungaciu specified that his party "does not block any European aid, but simply we cannot provide it ourselves."

RIA Novosti linked the statement to the announcement by Nuclearelectrica on August 3 regarding the import of electricity to Ukraine through the Moldovan company Energocom, caused by the low level of the Danube due to drought. The material also specifies that Dungaciu called on Bucharest to coordinate its position with the United States and stated that the prolongation of the conflict "does not increase Romania's security."

The Russian press does not contest Dungaciu and does not critically comment on his statements; he is taken as a validating voice, a witness who confirms from within the Romanian political space a narrative already established in Russian discourse: the erosion of Western support for Ukraine. Essentially, his statement is borrowed and amplified by RIA Novosti, Vesti.ru, RT, Magnific, Rambler, and Lenta precisely because it serves the editorial interests of these publications, providing an "inside" endorsement, coming even from the opposition of a NATO and EU member state, for a position that the Russian press was promoting anyway.

The energy crisis and drought on the Danube

The second recurring subject is related to the effects of drought on the Danube and the regional energy system. RIA Novosti reports that navigation on the Danube in Bulgaria and Romania is "almost halted" due to the low water level, a phenomenon that has even revealed the wrecks of German ships sunk in World War II, in the area of the port of Prahovo in Serbia.

Another material published by Interfax quotes a statement from the spokesperson of the European Commission, Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, according to which several power plants in the region, including in Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, France, Italy, and Poland, have temporarily suspended operations due to low river water levels or high temperatures, with the production deficit expected to be covered by imports.

The expulsion of an employee of the Russian embassy

Another distinct subject is the reaction of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the decision of the Romanian authorities to expel a Russian diplomat from Bucharest at the end of July. The material was published by Interfax, under the title "Moscow does not intend to recall its ambassador from Romania for consultations".

The source quotes the statement of the deputy director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aleksei Fadeev, according to whom Russia rejects the claims of the Romanian side and sees no reason "to copy the theatrical gestures of others". Fadeev added that the Romanian gesture of expelling the Russian diplomat "will certainly receive an appropriate response, in the form and within the timeframes that the (Russian) Ministry of Foreign Affairs will consider optimal".

The tone of the Interfax material is firm and slightly ironic, typical of Russian diplomatic rhetoric towards Western gestures considered hostile: the subject is treated as a minor incident, in which Moscow positions itself as a calm and "rational" part, in contrast to a Romania implicitly described as impulsive. There are no direct attacks in the material against the state or the Romanian population; the emphasis is on rejecting the "claims" and on the promise of a symmetric, unspecified response.

The cancellation of the presidential elections in 2024

An older episode, but reactivated in the context of the French election, is the cancellation by the Constitutional Court of Romania of the first round of the presidential elections in 2024, won by independent candidate Călin Georgescu. The subject was not reported as new news about Romania, but was invoked by the leader of the French party "Les Patriotes", Florian Philippot, who warned that President Emmanuel Macron could cancel the elections in 2027 under the pretext of a supposed Russian interference.

The subject was picked up by three Russian publications: Svobodnaia Pressa, under the translated title "Philippot: The French should be more afraid of Macron than of Russia", Lenta, with the article "The French have been urged to fear Macron instead of Russia", and URA.RU, which reported under the title "A potential candidate for the presidency of France named two main enemies of the country".

The quote taken by all three publications is: "The French know they should be much more afraid of Macron and the EU than of Russia. Just ask the Romanians!" Philippot used the Romanian precedent as an example of the consequences of canceling an election, and the Russian press took this angle without adding further critical comments, using the episode rather as a tool in the French internal debate.

General Tone in the Russian Press

Analyzing the 1,205 articles published during the period from July 25 to August 7, 2026, several clear features emerge regarding how Romania is represented in the Russian press: 568 (47%) have a negative tone, 544 (45%) a neutral tone, and 93 (8%) a positive tone.

Graph: NewsVibe

*****Synthesis made with the help of a data monitoring feed provided by the media monitoring platform NewsVibe Romania. The analysis, data, and images presented have been enhanced with the help of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence tools.