By John Q. Hosedrinker 
Alison Mutler is a British journalist with three decades of experience, having begun her career covering the anti-communist revolution in Romania for ITV. Following the fall of communism, she worked as a freelancer for various media outlets before becoming the chief correspondent for The Associated Press, covering Romania, Moldova, and occasionally Bulgaria for 25 years. She continues to contribute to Radio Free Europe, Coda Story, and Euronews, as well as to universul.net’s English section. Her Twitter handle is @AlisoNJMutler.
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Russia complaining about airspace violations while bombing neighbors is, let’s be honest, peak hypocrisy. The sheer gall of it all is staggering, especially coming from a nation that so readily disregards the sovereignty of others. It’s like the pot calling the kettle black, except the pot is a wrecking ball and the kettle is, well, a sovereign nation.
The Romanians, bless their hearts, seem to have a rather clear message for the Russians, and it’s not particularly polite. And frankly, who can blame them? Russia, a country that regularly tests the boundaries of international law and basic human decency, is suddenly clutching its pearls over a minor airspace incursion. It’s a bit rich, wouldn’t you say?
The fact that Romania isn’t exactly up in arms about the incident speaks volumes. The Ukrainian aircraft wasn’t there as a deliberate act of aggression, but likely performing some evasive maneuvers. The circumstances are key here, unlike Russia, which seems to be the master of deliberate aggression.
Romania’s lack of concern also stems from the fundamental reality that Ukraine isn’t perceived as a direct threat. This is precisely why countries tend to react much more strongly when Russia does something similar. Russia is, quite frankly, seen as a clear and present danger.
This entire performance feels like a carefully orchestrated theater piece. Russia’s not genuinely indignant; they’re just trying to muddy the waters, to sow confusion, and to portray themselves as the victims of unfair double standards. It’s the classic tactic: deflect, distort, and deny.
This situation reminds me of Leo Rosten’s definition of chutzpah: a man murders both his parents and then pleads for the court’s mercy because he’s an orphan. It’s that level of audacity. And let’s not forget the Russian drones that have actually fallen and exploded in Romania, without so much as a peep from the Kremlin. When Russia is angry with you, you’re probably doing something right.
And then there’s the issue of NATO airspace, of which Romania is a member. Shouldn’t that be a concern? And why isn’t Belarus, practically a Russian client state, making a fuss? The answers, sadly, are quite obvious.
As for the official Russian response, it seems to boil down to criticizing Romania for not being sufficiently concerned about the situation in Ukraine and not viewing it from their own perspective. The absurdity of this is almost comical. They seem to have a different idea of what a “rational approach” would be, which probably starts with not invading a sovereign nation.
It seems like Romania would rather not get involved, since they are friends with the Ukraine. I think it’s fair to say that Russia has been constantly invading Ukraine’s airspace. Why would Romania want to condemn their allies?
The whole thing is just a display of Russian petulance, a temper tantrum thrown on the world stage. They’re basically saying, “How dare you not be as outraged as we are about something we regularly do?!” It’s the playground bully demanding that everyone else play by his twisted rules.
The Russian government seems to be incredibly unintelligent. Russia is like a bully angry that you are not reacting to your brother pinching you the same way you reacted to them when they beat and almost killed your brother.
The world seems to be growing tired of their antics, but Russia keeps at it. Just imagine all of Russia’s indignities never arising, if only Russia had decided NOT to conduct an unprovoked invasion of a sovereign country…
And yet, here we are. The whole situation has a distinctly cartoonish quality, where everything is blown out of proportion and the emotional maturity seems to be stuck at a pre-teen level. It’s hard to take them seriously when they act like they do. It’s a reminder of how fundamentally unserious some world leaders have become.
Is it even a violation if the country whose airspace is being entered is okay with it? That’s a key question. It’s Russia in a nutshell: they’ve been violating Ukraine in every conceivable way for years, but when Ukraine fights back, even in the smallest way, they whine and moan about how unfair it all is.
The hypocrisy is breathtaking. Their official language seems to be blatant hypocrisy. It’s a dangerous, cynical game, and the world is growing weary of their lies and their double standards.