EditWhy did the claim of pro-Russian Romanian MEP about Bulgaria massing troops to seize Dobruja gain traction?
In a video that has attracted hundreds of thousands of views, Diana Șoșoacă repeated her longstanding claim that Romania is a “country at war” with Russia, while alleging that Sofia has received “security assistance” from Moscow.
A pro-Russian Romanian MEP has amplified an unsubstantiated claim that Bulgaria has massed its entire army along the border with Romania and is preparing to attack in order to reclaim Dobruja, pushing a familiar Kremlin-friendly narrative aimed at portraying Romania as a party to the war against Russia and Bulgaria as a close ally of Moscow.
Diana Șoșoacă, leader of the radical nationalist SOS România party, made the claim during an online broadcast last week. The video has since gone viral in Romania, attracting hundreds of thousands of views across social media.
Șoșoacă provided no evidence for the alleged deployment of Bulgarian troops, nor did she explain when or where Sofia had supposedly made territorial claims to Dobruja, a region bordering Romania.
The remarks are part of a broader narrative promoted by Șoșoacă and other pro-Russian nationalist voices in Romania, which portrays Bucharest’s support for Ukraine as making the country a direct participant in the war against Russia, while depicting Moscow as a security partner for Bulgaria.
“We are at war”
In a video that has attracted hundreds of thousands of views, Șoșoacă repeated her longstanding claim that Romania is a “country at war” with Russia, while alleging that Sofia has received “security assistance” from Moscow.
The viral claims have been picked up by Romanian fact-checkers. Independent investigative outlet Context.ro published a fact-check examining the allegations after the video gained traction.
There is no evidence presented by Șoșoacă to support her claims about a Bulgarian military build-up or any territorial ambitions towards Romania. She did not explain the source of her information, nor did she identify any instance in which the Bulgarian authorities had asserted a territorial claim to Dobruja.
The remarks were made during the online programme Dan Diaconescu Direct, hosted by former Romanian television presenter Dan Diaconescu. The programme was broadcast live on 12 August on the YouTube channel OTV – Dan Diaconescu and lasted around seven and a half hours. The full recording has attracted more than 90,000 views.
“We have a problem that no one is talking about. I don’t know if you know this, but the entire Bulgarian army is massed at the border with Romania,” Șoșoacă said during a several-minute appearance on the programme. She claimed the forces had arrived “four days ago” and had been placed on combat alert.
“I have told you so many times that they really want Dobruja,” she added, arguing that this was happening because Romania was “at war” with Russia.
Șoșoacă further claimed that Bulgaria was seeking to revive historical territorial claims dating back to what she described as the “Bulgarian Empire” and alleged that Sofia had close ties with Moscow.
“Attention, because Bulgaria has extremely close relations with Russia. They asked Russia for security assistance and they are receiving it,” she said.
The claims were subsequently amplified across social media. An excerpt from the programme was posted by the Facebook page Mișcarea de Eliberare, which supports Șoșoacă and her SOS România party.
Within a week, the video had accumulated more than 300,000 views, 7,000 reactions, 500 comments and 2,300 shares.
The remarks resonated with parts of the Romanian online audience, with commenters invoking a purported prophecy by Romanian Orthodox monk Arsenie Boca that Romania would eventually be occupied by three countries – Russia, Bulgaria and Hungary, Context.ro reported.
Soșoacă is facing criminal proceedings in Romania over a series of alleged offences, prompting the European Parliament to waive her immunity in 2026. The allegations include unlawful deprivation of liberty, threats against police officers and offences linked to the glorification of individuals convicted of war crimes.
European Parliament clears way for prosecution of Romanian extremist MEP Diana Șoșoacă
The Bulgarian counterpart
Similar rhetoric has been used for years in Bulgaria by the pro-Russian nationalist party Revival (Vazrazhdane), whose leader, Kostadin Kostadinov, has repeatedly portrayed the war in Ukraine and Bulgaria’s relations with NATO as a direct threat of the country being dragged into a war with Russia.
In May 2024, Kostadinov said Bulgarians faced a choice between giving power to Revival and going to war, while accusing NATO of preparing for a war with Russia.
Revival MEP Rada Laikova also spread a false claim in 2025 that the EU was considering introducing an “expiry date” for Europeans’ personal savings.
In an interview, she claimed that if people did not spend their salaries within six months, the money would “disappear from their accounts”, while funds held in pension and investment schemes would be redirected towards the defence industry.
The claims were widely circulated on social media but were subsequently fact-checked and found to be false by Factcheck.bg and AFP.
European Parliament clears way for prosecution of Romanian extremist MEP Diana Șoșoacă
Caption: Diana Șoșoacă at the EP Plenary session – The role of the EU in efforts for peace and stability throughout the Middle East after the announced deal between the US and Iran, EP audiovisuals
Updated: August 24, 2026 - 13:28
