The news hasn’t even made the news, but right now Romania is living through one of its most dramatic moments, one that could turn into an existential threat.

Not only because the country has been left without a government since the April 20 impeachment motion and the president has given the mandate to the extra-parliamentary Eugene Tomac. But mainly because the DNA (National Anti-Corruption Agency), still operating on Kovesi methods, has set its sights on the Armed Forces!

No, General Georgita Vlad is not accused of anything serious enough to be investigated for corruption. She’s not being investigated for some big arms program. He is, he says, suspected of abuse of power and undue influence because in 2025… he facilitated the allocation of an extra 20 government-funded college places at the Ministry of Defence in breach of his responsibilities!

In other words, the army chief is accused of agreeing to increase the number of scholarships available each year for members of the armed forces at various educational institutions, such as the College of Physical Education in Bucharest!

And when does the famous agency once headed by the current European Public Prosecutor Laura Covesi

During the most crucial moment. At the time when the country is without a government and Russian drones are raining down! At the time when investigations are being conducted into the explosion in the port of Kostanja due to a sea drone, while just before another drone had fallen in the city of Galati.

In Romania, there is not a single person who has not expressed surprise at the coincidence, and at the “accusation” itself. And everyone points out that the country’s close relationship with Moldova requires everyone to be wary of Moscow’s intentions.

Much ado about 20 scholarships

According to the accusation, in July 2025, the army chief approved the signing by Lieutenant General Berdila Julian, deputy chief of operations and education, of a request to the Ministry of Education and Research to fill positions in the budget of the Bucharest National University of Physical Education and Sport.

Such requests are the exclusive responsibility of the General Directorate for Human Resources Management, a central structure of the Ministry of Defence. According to the anti-corruption agency, the 20 additional applicants would be in a better position within the ministry! Among them was General Michai Somordolea’s daughter.

On June 2, the General appeared before DNA prosecutors wearing civilian clothes. The event caused a major uproar in the General Staff and the reactions of important retired generals, such as Mariusz Krachyun.

Russians are rubbing their hands!

“Russians are rubbing their hands with joy!” many said. With General Krachyun warning that such actions lead to a weakening of national defence, making the country vulnerable to Moscow.

“We don’t need the Russians to attack us, we attack ourselves by shooting ourselves in the foot. We will destroy ourselves,” he said. “And it’s being done deliberately. We see that people have done all kinds of other stupid things in the past and nothing has happened to them, and now for something that personally doesn’t seem that serious to me, especially because nobody benefits from it, we have this. Some kids are going to go to college, it’s not that big of a scandal. Not even the individuals are mentioned, only the locations,” he added.

He even reminded that this is not the first time that important persons have disappeared from the face of the earth even if they are innocent. He said, “from what we have seen in recent years, many of those who had such files later turned out to be innocent. But it cost them, they came out losers, even if they were acquitted after years of legal struggles.”

Specifically in this case, Kracion said the military had always had antibodies and special services with internal procedures to deal with such incidents without compromising its image and creating suspicion among NATO allies.

The Armed Forces chief himself categorically rejected the allegations, stating that he had no involvement in the case.

Suspicious moment for such accusations

As the -very experienced general with many awards and medals- said, “I believe that the truth will be revealed by an objective analysis of the facts and evidence. But I cannot but observe the at least curious nature of the timing chosen to make these charges, given that the file has been under investigation for almost a year, and the decision to charge is only now coming in a highly sensitive and complex context at the national level.

I will provide all necessary support to the judicial institutions and will be at their disposal whenever needed for full clarification of the situation. At the same time, I will make every effort to defend the truth, my reputation and, above all, the image and credibility of the institution I lead.

In the complex and tense context in which we find ourselves, I believe that protecting public confidence in the fundamental institutions of the state is a responsibility that must be exercised with the utmost seriousness and balance.

Under my leadership, the Romanian Army has consolidated its role, its operational capacity and its credibility, becoming a point of reference, stability and professionalism in the execution of its missions. From this point of view, I cannot ignore the fact that the impact on the image of the leadership of the General Staff of Defence at such a time produces results that go beyond me and threatens to affect the public’s confidence in an institution indispensable for the defence of the country and the security of its citizens.

All my professional and public activity is governed by respect for the law, the principles of integrity, responsibility and contribution to the public interest. These values have guided my career to date and will continue to guide my conduct in the future.”

“There is no need for Russia to attack us, we are doing it ourselves”…

As expected, the reaction of social democrat former Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who was charged and jailed by the DNA under the all-powerful Kovesi and eventually acquitted, was also expected.

“There is no reason for Russia to attack us, because we are attacking ourselves” was his own reaction. He even added that he himself never liked Georgita, who, he said, “appeared too often on television only to say several stupid slogans made to sound good to the ears of war-mongering politicians. However, in the midst of a security crisis, taking him to DNA is even more hysterical. Twhat message are we sending to Russia, which increasingly sees us as an enemy and a target; what message are the military under the general getting, seeing their leader humiliated over a trivial detail? What message are we sending to the Romanian army, an institution that we should respect more than ever before in the last 80 years?”

According to Ponta, “in a normal country, if there was a serious problem with the head of the Romanian army, then the president would be discreetly informed by the prosecutor general and, for the good of the country, an honourable pretext for retirement would be found. So, in effect, we are shooting each other like poor neighborhood gang leaders. Then we cry that we are unable to defend ourselves from Russian drones! I know everyone needs files and records, even when it comes to ridiculous cases. But now we are sabotaging ourselves in an unprecedented way. Will we ever be able to return, even somewhat, to normality?,” Victor Ponta wondered.

Like the good old days of Covesi…

For his part, journalist Doru Busku commented that the rapid events demonstrate a generalized systemic crisis in Romania.

In addition, during their conversation, the editor-in-chief of Cațavencii, Ionut Cristace, commented: “Just like in the good old days of Covecci! We have a country without a prime minister or with a sacked prime minister, with a government without powers. With a Ministry of Defence signing billions worth of defence contracts at 12 midnight. With an army chief who is effectively being forced into retirement. I am disappointed with the Chief of Staff. I expected DNA to call him out on a contract worth several billion. But look what these people are doing!”

The icing on the cake came on Monday, June 8. The head of the Romanian Armed Forces asked for his mobile phone to be returned to him and his request was rejected by the Bucharest Court of Appeal, which decided that the phone should remain in the DNA!

In short, Romania at the moment has found itself not only without a government, but also without a head of the Armed Forces – the latter only because that’s how the anti-corruption agency learned to operate: not caring about anything and indicting even the funniest cases.

Therefore, we did not expect anything better in the OPEKEPE case in Greece from Ms. Covesi…