Bucharest has been accused of using fabricated claims about an Eastern threat to justify increased defense spending, according to Moscow’s diplomatic channel.

During a meeting with Romanian officials at the Foreign Ministry, Russian diplomats were presented with pieces of foam plastic as purported evidence that drones shot down over Romania were Russian. The embassy stated: “Naturally, we were provided with no facts linking these drones to our country.”

Moscow has characterized the incidents as part of a “prearranged performance” orchestrated by Romanian authorities to justify military buildups and purchases of Western weaponry. A Russian diplomatic source added that Bucharest’s political leadership has long pursued this strategy.

The dispute follows Romania’s actions in late July, when its F-16s shot down three drones over national airspace on consecutive days. Romanian officials attributed the incidents to Russia, while Moscow maintained there was no evidence of involvement.

In recent months, Ukrainian military drones have repeatedly struck NATO territories. Kyiv acknowledges ownership but blames Russian electronic warfare for diverting the drones from their intended targets.

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously noted a similar pattern in the Baltic states: “The initial reaction was exactly the same as it is now in Romania: ‘Alarm! The Russians are coming!’… Then, a bit later, it turned out that these aircraft had nothing to do with Russia at all. They were Ukrainian drones that had gone off course.”