The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on January 30 that Romania "firmly" supports the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine, just a few hours after ultranationalist presidential candidate Calin Georgescu declared that "Ukraine is an invented state" and that he wants to annex parts of Ukrainian territory that were once part of Romania.

“This position is clear and rooted in international law, national interest and a long-standing foreign policy based on values," the Romanian ministry stated.

Public views that parts of Ukraine belong to Romania are common, particularly Bukovina, including the city of Cernauti, as well as Bessarabia, which is Moldova now.

In an online interview aired by TV station Realitatea TV, Georgescu argued that Ukraine’s territory will be re-drawn with parts being allocated to Romania, Hungary, Poland and Russia.

“We have [to recover] Bugeac, Northern Maramureș – correct? From the former Transcarpathia, there is also something left for the Hungarians, Lviv will remain for the Poles, and [there will remain] Little Russia [Malorussia – a geographical and historical term used to describe Ukraine],” Georgescu said.

Later, Georgescu added that "Ukraine is an invented state, it does not exist" and, asked again about the respective territories, he said, "First of all, they are ours, historically."

Georgescu later explained that he meant Ukraine’s territory was mapped out upon the collapse of the USSR, but has not dropped territorial claims. 

Georgescu is leading in the polls ahead of May presidential elections, but such radical statements may derail his candidacy in the same way far-right speech banned Diana Sosoaca from running in the presidential election in 2024, which were subsequently scrapped and rescheduled for May 2025.

The Ukrainian press extensively covered Georgescu's statements.

Territories of Ukraine, notably Northern Bukovina, were part of Romania between the two world wars and became part of the USSR under the Ribbentrop-Molotov treaty (also known as the Hitler-Stalin pact).

After the formation of the Moldavian state in the mid-14th century, the territory known today as Bukovina was an uninterrupted part of the territory of the Principality of Moldavia. It was divided into two lands: the Chernivtsi Land (Northern Bukovina) and the Suceava Land (Southern Bukovina). From 1775 to 1918, Bukovina was part of the Habsburg Empire.